Shards of History
by TheMoonclaw
Summary: Mysterious ruins are uncovered in the desert with hints of possible Lunarian origin. A simple trip to investigate turns into more then anyone bargained for. After all, sometimes the past should stay buried before it casts long shadows into the future... Post TAY, post LaF and MBK, multi-chaptered.
1. Prologue

Winds howled and whistled against loose sand and between scattered pillars of sand. The sun was starting to set, casting eerie light against the desert scape.

In one direction, a sea of sand, painted red by the setting sun, spread out as far as the eye could see. In the other direction, mountains rose from the ground into the sky, cutting off the desert from the rest of the world.

In between the contrasting landscapes were arches, boulders and free-formed rocks made of wind worn stone that varied in placement and size.

Two figures walked at even paces, hiding in the shadows cast by the mountains not far from where they were.

"We've been at this five days, Reed." the man in the back complained.

Reed sighed and looked over his shoulder, "I know that, but with all the earthquakes lately we need to map the area. I seem to be the only one concerned about it…"

His friend snorted, "It's Damcyan, what did you expect? If it doesn't have to do with music, poetry or flowers, no one cares."

Reed frowned and paused to squint at some ledges above them. He commented distractedly, "Don't you think that's just a little racist?"

"It's not racist if I live there," the other man replied, shrugging.

They continued along, picking their way carefully over the more uneven terrain as sand gave way to rocks.

"So far everything looks about the same, but up ahead there appears to be a shift in the mountain range." Reed said, pointing.

His assistant made a face, "How in the world can you tell? It's not like we have great topographical maps or anything…"

"I know, because I made the map," he said, grinning. "I brought it with me from Kaipo."

"At least you know what the hell you're doing," the other man grumbled. "Still, I think I must have done something to tick off Harley since I got stuck out here with you."

Reed rolled his eyes, "But we're having so much fun…"

"Or maybe Harley just thinks these earthquakes are serious," the other man continued, ignoring the previous comment.

Reed started walking again after checking his map once more. "From what I've heard," he said, running his hand along a series of rock faces, "Harley sounds like a smart woman."

"Not smart enough to move somewhere else," the assistant complained.

Reed frowned at him, "A lot of that going around."

The sun continued to set, plunging the area into further darkness. It crawled over rocks and into crevices first, but was almost done tainting the sands further away when a series of caves came into view.

"Ah! I knew it! Look here!" Reed exclaimed, "Caves!"

His partner gave him a look, "Do caves warrant that sort of reaction?"

Reed ignored him, "These shouldn't be here. The shifts in the tectonic plates must have opened them up."

He climbed up a set of uneven stairs to peer inside one of the large caverns. "To think, no one would have known these existed without those quakes."

He squinted into the darkness before lighting a torch and stepping inside. The cave was massive, spanning a network of honeycomb like structures. Only a handful of areas were visible, but it appeared to go on forever from his vantage point.

Taking a few steps more, he was halted by the other man hissing a warning from the entrance. "Hey! Are you mad? We have no idea what's inside of there!"

Reed rolled his eyes, "Like what, fiends? I'm not worried."

"You'd think after all that trouble you got into in Kaipo you would be," the man retorted, stepping cautiously after him.

Reed glared at him, "Where did you hear about that?"

"I wanted to know who I was traveling with. I asked around. You nearly died with that whole second moon thing, right?"

"Yes, so?"

"So, you'd think you'd be more careful. There could be anything in here. Especially since these are new caves." he explained, looking around into the shadows.

Reed kept walking, "You don't have to come."

With a sigh, the other man followed, though he muttered under his breath the whole time.

The caves continued for a little with the wider network of chambers, but soon most of the sections were blocked off by debris or solid walls.

It left but one path, and with only a brief hesitation, Reed continued into the long, dark corridor.

"This is such a bad idea," his assistant said, voice loud in the silence.

Reed rolled his eyes again, but didn't feel up to commenting back. He had to admit that something in the air felt off. It wasn't like he didn't know what shifts in temperature felt like, but this was more ethereal, more like a spell gone awry.

Just another thing he knew the feeling of.

The hallway of stone continued, and at the end, something strange caught his eye.

"What is…that?" he whispered, squinting at it.

Instead of a wall of rock, it was metallic and solid, patterned with texture and eerily out of place in the scenery around them.

Carefully he brushed aside some of the dust coating the metal and he spotted some symbols written on it. Most were hidden by more rocks encroaching on the discovery, but some of them were readily visible.

Swallowing, he backed up a few paces, "We should leave,"

"What happened to that adventurous attitude of yours?" the other man asked.

Reed glanced at him, "Even I'm not stupid enough to tamper with something _Lunarian_."

They both looked back to the metal piece.

"Let's get back. I think we've just found something worth reporting."

* * *

_**Hey everyone! Look whose back? Well, actually, not...quite. **_

_**I'm actually really mean to upload this, because really it's just like a teaser of a story I'm heaving a hard time writing. I'm not sure when I'll post an actual chapter; I'm inspired to write it, I just feel like everything I write isn't good enough...**_

_**But honestly, there's a few things that I feel like I owe all my loyal readers and followers...including a certain pairing...hehe**_

_**Even though I'm not sure when an upload is coming, here's a little teaser of the story, and I'll post some other information for it:**_

_**I recommend reading Lost and Found and My Brother's Keeper before this, as otherwise you will have no idea what's going on, since it's the next fic in that 'verse.**_

_**Cover Image is in the works. If Kieran would stop by so obnoxious a subject, the image would be done already...**_

_**This story, like all of mine, will be a little different. This one will have a sci-fi feel to it (Hence the tagging of categories.) If I had another option to tag, I would have put romance because there's a lot of that in this one too. (So stop complaining...;) )**_

_**The story will feature four different POV (It's to push myself...*sigh*)**_

_**As with all my chaptered stories, this one will have a slow start, but it's going to be long, too. Possibly even longer then Lost and Found.**_

_**For now, that's all you get. I'll be working on it so we'll just have to see where it takes us...**_

_**As always, thank you to my readers and followers. I'm going to finish this because I feel like I owe it to you.**_

_**~Moonclaw~**_


	2. Moments

A light spark of electrical energy zapped Cuore's finger and she gave a small yelp of discomfort.

"Bab-Il," she scolded, withdrawing her hand instantly. "I thought I requested that you turn the secondary microprocessors _off_,"

"Apologies Cuore," the computer's feminine voice replied with a beep. "Introductory circuits are still activated."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, turn those off, then."

"Command confirmed," the computer voice replied.

She frowned, "Bab-Il, are there _anymore_ safety concerns I need to know about before I try removing this crystal back-up drive?"

"No."

Cuore reached inside and jiggled the fragment, trying to unlatch it without damaging the sensitive coils around it. "Sometimes I think you purposely misunderstand what I'm asking,"

The computer beeped again, "I am not programed for deception."

"You weren't programed to be snarky, either, but you've gotten an attitude once in a while with me," Cuore pointed out.

She plucked the crystalline tube from the unit in front of her and grinned, setting it aside for later before peeking inside the massive cavity of technology in front of her.

She sighed.

"Your exhale of breath suggests you are displeased." Bab-Il commented.

She frowned up at the ceiling, "See? Attitude…"

Cuore leaned back on her heels, "Not displeased, just…there's a lot of work to be done, still. It's like pulling weeds. I fix one thing and discover five others that need work…"

"Your plans to reprogram this structure are most ambitious."

Cuore sighed again, "Perhaps…"

There was a series of mechanical chimes before Bab-Il spoke up again. "I am receiving a request to patch voice prints to you."

"From outside?" Cuore asked, standing up.

"Affirmative."

"Accepted, patch it through…"

There were another few sounds as the connection was made before she heard a familiar voice muttering.

"Izayoi, I can hear you," she teased, leaning against the console in front of her, strewn with bundles of wires.

"Cuore! It's good to hear you. You know I hate this damn tower. Did you notice it has an attitude?" her cousin complained through the link.

She chuckled, "I'm just integrating it into our culture,"

"Right," Izayoi said sarcastically.

Cuore frowned, "Izayoi, what did you need? Usually you only come here to fetch me…"

"And I have again." the other woman replied, voice cutting out at the end briefly.

She hesitated, "I'm still working,"

"You're always working."

"I have a lot to do." Cuore said defensively, rubbing one arm awkwardly.

Her cousin sighed heavily, "Cuore, frankly we're all a little…concerned. You've been at this tower over a week, now."

She chewed her lip, "I finished reprograming the CPU last month, and now I'm trying to get the core safety features-"

"Your birthday is tomorrow," Izayoi interrupted.

Cuore sighed and glanced around the room; it was messy with discard parts, crystal tubes, data panels and other assorted items she needed to fix the tower.

"I know," she assured the other woman. "I'll be there."

"What about today? You know everyone is coming. They'll be here soon." Izayoi commented with a pointed tone.

Cuore grinned, "I figured you would meet them. Kain is coming too, right?"

"…I'd smack you if you weren't over one hundred floors above me,"

She giggled and then nodded, even if there was no one to see it. "I know you and mom and dad are worried about me spending so much time here, but I just want to make sure this tower can't ever be used again in attempts to destroy the world. I haven't forgotten about my birthday, and I will be there tomorrow. I promise."

"I'll hold you to your word, High Summoner Cuore Rydia Edge Geraldine, or so help me, I'll climb this damn thing and drag you down and to that party myself." Izayoi vowed.

Cuore grinned, but still winced, "Don't worry, I never break my word."

"See you tomorrow then,"

The link cut out and Cuore sighed, dropping her gaze to the panels in front of her. She knew there was a great deal of concern flying around about how much time the past year she'd been spending in the Tower of Babil. The problem was, Cuore knew she needed to do this. The tower was dangerous in the wrong hands, and with so many attempts to destroy the world that had already come to pass in the last few decades, she didn't want any repeats.

Besides, her family didn't need to worry; the tower was no match for company. She'd rather be playing with her little siblings then reconfiguring transistors.

"Alright, Bab-Il, let's do this. I'm on a deadline." she mumbled, sitting back down.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Ceodore whined.

Kieran grinned over his shoulder, "Still seasick?"

"I hate you," the prince said, glaring at him from across the deck. "I never make fun of you for your airsickness,"

Kieran shrugged, "Sure you do."

"If you kids don't stop it," Kain said, glancing between them, "I'm having this boat turned around and we're going home."

Ceodore was hanging halfway over the railing, eyes closed, but still muttered, "I still don't see why we had to take a boat anyway,"

Kain made a face, "Would you take an airship to a country that is always requesting we give them one? It's like rubbing it in Edge's face that we keep saying no."

"Because you coming isn't going to bug him or anything," Kieran said, shrugging.

Kain frowned at him, "No more so than you coming."

"Hey, hey, I was _invited_." Kieran commented, holding a hand over his heart.

Kain rolled his eyes.

Kieran smirked, "But, I bet you were invited by _someone_ too, right?"

His mentor whacked him upside the head and glared at him. Ceodore raised his head enough to be part of the conversation again, "Why are you coming, Kain? We're all old enough to take care of ourselves. Besides, there's adults where we're going if we needed supervision."

Kain nodded slowly, "Oh, so you see Edge and Rydia as adults? I see…"

Kieran snickered and leaned back against the mast, glancing to the side to watch the waves part as they're ship moved ever closer to Eblan.

Despite becoming what he would consider friends with Cuore over the last two years, since the incident with her brother's kidnapping, Kieran had still been surprised to actually receive a personal invite from her to this little get together.

Sure, they spent a decent amount of time together at world meetings, gatherings and mandatory celebrations, but to actually be wanted was another thing entirely.

Besides, the fact that Eblan was even having such a large scale event was surprising. They were less xenophobic then in the past, or so he'd heard, but they still never held very large celebrations for outsiders. To date they'd never hosted one of the yearly summit meetings.

Then again, eighteen, eight and two were milestone years for the children of the kingdom.

Ceodore gripped the railing a little tighter, but stood upright and blinked a few times before frowning, "I forgot how long boats take to get anywhere…I wish we could have brought the _Relativity_ or the _Equinox_…even the old _Enterprise_ is faster than this,"

Kieran shrugged, not in the mood to discuss airships when they'd already covered why they hadn't brought one. He was still surprised that Cuore hadn't just made one already. She was certainty capable, no matter how much she commented on 'contaminating' the world.

Kain shielded his eyes from the glaring sun and squinted, "I see Babil, so we're not far off now. Maybe a few more hours?"

Ceodore groaned. Kieran grinned and shook his head.

* * *

The port was busy considering there was only one other ship docking when they arrived, and Kieran had to wonder exactly what everyone was doing. Then again, he wasn't one to talk. Baron's port served so little purpose it was laughable.

He glanced over his shoulder when he heard footsteps clanking loudly down the wooden plank, and he felt mildly compassionate.

Ceodore groaned as he step foot on the stone covered dock, one arm wrapped around his midsection and the other hand pressed to his face. "Now I remember why I hate sea travel,"

Kieran grinned and slung an arm over his shoulders, "Just think, in three days we get to go back that way!"

Ceodore dropped his hand and glared at him, "Kieran, I am not above shoving you into the water,"

There was a quick retort on his lips, but a quiet sort of commotion behind them, back the way they'd come, made Kieran turn, physically dragging Ceodore with him, to spy.

Kain was busy arguing with one of the dock workers and looked anything but pleased.

"Hmm…I think if anyone is going in the water, Kain will be doing the pushing…" Kieran commented, unable to pry his eyes away.

Ceodore looked sympathetic, "He says they always hassle him when he comes here,"

"Well, it's _Kain_," Kieran replied, shrugging. "He looks guilty, you know?"

They watched him haggle with the man back and forth for a moment before Ceodore prodded Kieran's side. "We should help," he suggested.

Kieran turned to raise an eyebrow at him, "Help, how? I say we just take a look around,"

He didn't wait for the other man to follow him and just took off towards where the crowd had thinned somewhat, off the docks and onto a street.

"But…" Ceodore said, staying where he was for a moment and looking back and forth between their ship and the rest of the port. "Kain has out passports…"

"Yes, and he has to log us in," Kieran called, walking backwards. "He's got it covered. I'm bored, let's go."

Ceodore hesitated for a moment more and then jogged around a group of people carrying a crate to catch up.

"I hope we don't get in trouble," he worried, looking around as if someone of authority was going to jump out of the shadows at any minute.

Kieran rolled his eyes, "We know the royal family here, that has to count for something…"

"We're still outsiders, we should still be following protocol and decorum and you're not even listening to me, are you?" the prince griped, glaring at him.

Kieran grinned, "I was, but now you've said your bit. Feel better?"

Ceodore seemed to ponder the question before muttering a; "No…"

They continued to walk, taking in the sights of the port and trying to stay out of the way. Kieran was actually surprised they hadn't attracted more second glances and weird looks.

The land sloped upwards toward the outskirts of the little town that served as the harbor, and beyond the low laying walls were nothing but grasslands, patchy with dust. Though like anywhere in Eblan, if you knew where to look on the horizon, you could make out the outline of the Tower of Babil.

"Hey!"

They both turned towards the greeting and saw a familiar form leaning out of a second story window in one of the wooden building. Ursula waved and then called down, "Wait right there!"

Kieran glanced at Ceodore as they waited and noted how almost _stupid_ he looked after seeing the blonde princess of Fabul.

He rolled his eyes.

Ceodore may have gotten seasick, but Kieran might very well be throwing up in the next few minutes.

Ursula usually had a flair for the dramatic, and quickly became the center of attention wherever she went. Today was no exception.

She threw open the double doors of the building, spooking a couple of people nearby who looked over, half surprised, half annoyed by the intrusion.

"Hi!" she called again, gracing them with one of her large, cheerful smiles as she wandered over. "I wondered when you two would show up!"

She approached them in a friendly manner, but paused a few steps away and gave Ceodore a once over. Ursula wrinkled her nose and leaned back, "Uh, you look like you just threw up, I'm not hugging you,"

Ceodore frowned, looking irritated and still slightly ill. Kieran glanced between the two of them and mirrored his friend's expression when Ursula stayed put.

"Hey, I don't get a hug, either?" he nagged.

The blonde princess gave him a somewhat offended look, "Since when do you do hugs?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes as Ceodore turned to look at him, a hint of a teasing glint in his eye. "Yeah," he said, crossing his arms, "I thought you were too '_cool_' for stuff like that?"

"Well, I am," Kieran retorted, holding up his hands in fake surrender, "But I wanted to be polite."

They both rolled their eyes at him.

Ursula suddenly put her hands on her hips, "What took you so long to get here?"

"Weak by sea," Kieran said as way of explanation.

She gave him a funny look, eyes darting over his appearance again. "Kieran, you seem…happy."

Ceodore chuckled and Kieran made a face, "Are you implying I'm usually in a bad mood?"

"Pretty much," the princess said, rolling her eyes. "It's just varying degrees of moodiness."

"I'm happy about not having to see my roommates for the next few days." he commented, frowning. He decided to ignore her previous comment.

No need to start a fight right off the bat.

They had been extra hard to live with this past year. After all, Kieran's training had been halted more times than he really cared to note; earlier on for medical problems and more recently for a stent of suspension on something that really wasn't his fault. As a result, he'd been behind on taking the all-important final test.

It wasn't until just a few months ago that he finally moved on to be on the same level as they were, and for some annoying reason they all decided that it was still necessary to remind him of that fact every chance they got.

These few days spent away from Baron would be welcome.

"How long have you been here?" Ceodore asked Ursula.

She paused to think about it, "I don't know…most of the day? I took a nap when we first arrived. I wanted to wait for you two so we could all make the trip to the castle together. My parents already left, I think somehow their more excited about this trip then I am." At the end of her statement she flashed them a smile.

"You're just hoping to get into a fight," Kieran pointed out.

The princess shrugged largely, "Wouldn't be sad if we did come across some nasty, fang-riddled monster…"

Ceodore and Kieran exchanged a glance and she grinned before waving them back inside, talking as she graceful spun on one foot. "So, let's go, shall we?"

"I…think we're missing someone," Ceodore pointed out, pointing back the way they'd come. "Kain's back at the docks,"

"Always late," Ursula commented, stepping through the doorway and back into the building.

Kieran glanced around once they had entered and noticed the assortment of people inside. Most were milling around, some were sitting, and none of them cast the new comers a second glance except for a child who was sulking by the doorway.

Ursula stopped beside him and he glanced at her, but said nothing. Kieran made a face, but didn't have a chance to say anything because Ceodore was talking again. "I just think we should go back to the docks. I don't want to get lost or something."

"Lost? You just head for the Tower of Babil if all else fails!" Ursula teased, tossing him a smile.

Kieran gave her a look, "And then what?"

"Then you go down in a straight line," she replied, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg.

"…A navigator you are not," he countered.

She frowned but Ceodore was still fussing; "I just don't want to get into any trouble. I mean, I know we're friends with the royal family, but we're also still trying to secure trade agreements and that airship ferry lane,"

Ursula groaned and slumped back against the doorframe, "That's still going on? I thought you would have given up on it by now."

Ceodore shrugged, "I'm not really involved in it, I just keep hearing about it."

They both looked at Kieran.

He pulled his attention away from the notice board for hunts he had spotted and glanced between them, realizing they wanted him to add to their conversation.

"What? I have no idea." he said.

"But your our airship guy," Ursula informed him, sounding disappointed. "We expect you to know these things."

"Sorry to crush your dreams," he quipped, returning his attention to people watching.

The other two continued their talk around him, but he was more interested in their surroundings. He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting in coming to Eblan, but not what he'd seen so far.

He'd only been there a handful of times before, and he didn't actually count those. They were crisis times and frantically hurried, under horrible circumstances.

He'd heard people tell stories, but he had already decided the majority of those were grossly exaggerated.

Still he hadn't expected it be so crowded at the docks since he thought their trading permits were still, after all this time, limited. Not only that, but they had a more assorted and varied crowd of people present then he would have thought.

Kieran returned his attention to the other two once he had finished his once over of the building, and he noticed that Ceodore was still fidgeting as if still uneasy.

Ursula gestured to the boy standing next to her, "By the way, this is Raj, Leo's friend from Fabul. He hitched a ride with us."

The boy, Raj, gave them once overs and merely scowled. Ursula chuckled, "He's a little ray of sunlight,"

He glared at her, and Ceodore shrugged, "He reminds me of a miniature Kieran,"

Kieran held up his hands, "Well, the world could always use more awesome in it,"

Ceodore rolled his eyes but Ursula just laughed again.

"I've missed you two," she admitted, flashing them another smile. "It's really good to see you, and I'm excited to see Cuore! It's been almost a year…"

"She's tactfully missed a lot of world gatherings," Kieran agreed, frowning.

Ceodore glanced at him, hesitating before he spoke up, "I…noticed that too. I hope everything is alright,"

"You two worry too much," Ursula assured them, waving off their statements. "Cuore is Cuore."

Kieran's frown deepened, thinking that sometimes Ursula was a little too carefree. But, she did have a point; Cuore _was_ Cuore.

Who knew what was going on in that head of hers?

* * *

Ursula was mildly disappointed that the trip from the port of the castle was across plains.

They had those in Fabul, she wanted to see something more exotic.

Still, it was a little eerie to constantly have the tower off in the distance, like a creepy guardian watching their every step. She wasn't sure how Cuore could live in a place that had to look at the eyesore all the time, and she found herself finally understanding why it was Edge made all those comments about it.

They hadn't come across any monsters, but as Kain had reminded them once they had set out, fiend sightings were on a low again. It seemed to vary with the time of year, and went in cycle from year to year, decade to decade.

She was mildly disappointed about that, too.

It wasn't that she was always looking for a fight, but, just like she had wanted to see an exotic, unfamiliar landscape, she would have liked to try her hand against something unknown.

Her skills would never grow if she didn't get a little variety in her training.

All the same, however, the trip was uneventful and she spent the time looking around and dropping in and out of conversations with those around her.

Unsurprisingly, she ended up walking most of the time next to Ceodore, while everyone else trailed further back, including Kieran, who liked to make himself scarce.

"It's going to be great to see everyone again," she commented, grinning slightly. Her parents had certainly been pleased to come, but she wondered if they weren't just glad to get away from home at long last.

She inherited her adventurous nature from somewhere, after all.

Ceodore nodded agreement with her, smiling and finally looking to be over the worst of his seasickness. "It will be good to see everyone, and without anything important going on. I always feel like those meetings are supposed to be formal and it's just not as much fun,"

Ursula frowned, "Well, we are royalty,"

"Yeah…" he didn't sound too thrilled.

She glanced at him and decided to try another tactic, "Well, Kieran's not, but he just hides in the corner anyway,"

Ceodore shrugged, "It's his way."

Ursula looked over her shoulder at him and wasn't surprised to see him silent and apart from the rest of the group.

"It's good to see you again, too," Ceodore remarked, drawing her attention back. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages…"

She tried not to openly wince and instead laughed lightly, "I just saw you at the last world summit, remember? That wasn't that long ago…"

"Yeah," he conceded hesitantly, "But you haven't been to visit in forever, seems like…"

Ursula nervously scratched her neck and averted her gaze, trying to think of the best way to tip the topic of this conversation. "I've been busy,"

"I know. How'd the trip to Hobbs go?" he asked.

She shrugged, "Fine, I guess."

Ceodore gave her a look and she waved a hand, "It's nothing special. I'm way more interested in what in the world Cuore's been up too. I've hardly received any letters from her at all."

She could see and somehow feel the prince's disappointment at her comments, but he nevertheless continued their talk.

"I know. I've only gotten a few."

There was an awkward pause and she sighed lightly, feeling guilty. It wasn't that she didn't want to have a conversation with him, she just didn't want to think about their rather complicated relationship.

This trip was supposed to be fun, and it was supposed to be centered around the Geraldine children anyway. Her and Ceodore could figure out their problems at a later date.

Sadly, she realized that if Kieran was with them then this wouldn't have faded into such a silence. He would have at least made a snide remark that would have made them both mad at him instead of each other.

She wondered if he did that on purpose.

Thinking of him, Ursula chanced another look back at Kieran, and did a double take.

She nudged Ceodore, "Check it out,"

He looked puzzled but followed her gaze, catching sight of what she was witnessing and blinking, clearly just as surprised.

Kieran and Raj appeared to be deep in discussion about something, and from the looks of it, it wasn't an argument. Every so often the wind would carry snapshots of words to her ears, something about training and the Wind Crystal, but she couldn't really hear enough to know.

"Misery loves company?" Ceodore suggested after a moment.

Ursula shrugged and turned back around, "Don't get me wrong, I think it's great, for both of them, but…"

"But what?" Ceodore asked, leaning forward.

She pursed her lips as she considered how to phrase her words. Her eyes narrowed on the path up ahead, "I'm not sure…does Kieran seem…weird, to you?"

"Weird how?"

"…Weird in a good way, weird." she said, looking back at him again. "He's…happy."

"He does seem a little bit lighter lately. But he's also not airsick. We took a boat, remember?" the prince explained, scowling at mention of sea travel.

Ursula resisted the intense urge to harass him about his lack of sea legs, and instead pondered his words on their mutual friend. She had a hard time believing it was just the airsickness that made him so overly bitter all the time. He had his moments where he was actually a good friend, but it was like sorting through tangles of brambles to find one berry.

Hardly worth it, in most cases.

Still, it could have been because he just didn't get out enough, in her opinion. He did nothing for fun, and trying to get him to come with her and Ceodore was like pulling teeth.

Wanting to at least pretend like they weren't being awkward, Ursula forced a smile and started another conversation.

"So, too bad your parents couldn't come. Is everything okay with the flooding?"

Ceodore shrugged and sounded disinterested, "I guess."

"…You guess the flooding is fine now or you guess it's a bummer your parents aren't here?" she asked to clarify, rising an eyebrow.

He frowned, "Both."

Feeling like she had just stepped in a pitfall trap, she swallowed and dropped her voice, wanting to keep this between them.

"Are you having problems with them or something?"

He glanced at her sharply, "I don't know, are you and your dad getting along?"

Ursula scowled at him and narrowed her eyes, "I get your point,"

"Good. Let's not talk about it."

"Fine."

Another lapse started, and this time Ursula had no intention of breaking the silence. It wasn't like her parents and her were having trouble, they just weren't seeing eye to eye on everything.

Nothing new there.

Still, Ceodore should have known not to resort to such a low blow.

She crossed her arms and let her gaze slide back to the Tower of Babil, considering the former comments. "_Since when does he keep secrets from me anywhere? After all the times I've had to listen him_!" she fumed, frowning.

Her brooding thoughts were interrupted when Kieran joined them, surprisingly with words.

"Remind me who else is at this thing? Is there anyone I need to avoid?"

They both looked at him, but there was a pause as Ursula tried to figure out how to reply and pull her thoughts to something other than Ceodore.

Kieran glanced between them and frowned, "Did I miss something?"

"No," Ceodore said hastily.

Ursula glared at him, annoyed he so quickly recovered from being gloomy and irritated.

"I don't think there's anyone you need to worry about, but I can't be expected to keep track of how many people you've ticked off. It's just too many for any one person to remember." the prince said, grinning slightly.

Kieran frowned at him, "Ha, ha,"

"If Cuore invited you, I think your good," Ursula said, feeling at ease enough to join in their chat.

He looked puzzled, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, out of everyone in the world, she's the one you made cry the most," she answered with a shrug.

Ceodore chuckled, "Remember that one time she slapped you?"

"Ceodore, shut up,"

"What? Everyone remembers that one…it's not every party that happens." prince said, holding his hands in surrender.

Ursula nodded, "You totally deserved it, too."

Kieran glared at her, "You weren't even close enough to hear us fighting,"

"So what?" she said, hands on her hips, "Cuore told me, obviously. We girls stick together you know."

"I shouldn't have even asked you two," he complained. "You would pick Cuore's side,"

"Are we taking sides?" Ceodore asked in a teasing tone of voice.

Ursula interrupted them and pointed ahead, "Ah! A flamehound!"

Ceodore winced, "Let's avoid that one, shall we?"

She scoffed and tossed a pigtail over her shoulder, "No way!"

Kieran just sighed.

Deciding she wasn't going to wait for them to make up their mind, she dashed a few steps to the top of the incline before choosing her footing and racing down the hill. The fiend looked up at her and growled, making her grin.

This was going to be a challenge for sure. The beast was literally on fire, and honestly she wasn't sure if it had a solid mass underneath all the flames. Those with magic or long ranged weapons would be a better choice to face it, since they could avoid touching it, but she needed some trials in her life.

Things had gotten too easy lately, because after you've saved the world a few times, where was there to go from there?

Ursula resorted to using quick jabs to avoid being in contact with the fiery skin of the hound too long. The first few strikes were complete misses; she couldn't see through the flames enough to gauge the distance to whatever was underneath all the bluster.

A swift kick hit something of a hide and she grinned, back-stepping twice as fast as the dog lashed at her.

"Too slow, flamey," she taunted, slipping back into her form.

The flamehound charged at her, forcing her to spin on her heels out of the way. It skidded a few feet from her, turning as it went, lips pulled back into a snarl. Grass was torn up as it launched at her again, this time with a pouncing action.

Ursula dropped to the ground and rolled backwards, leaving the beast to crash into the space where she'd been a moment before. Sliding one leg out, she widened her stance and narrowed her eyes against the heat the flames were causing.

"Um, do you need help?"

"No!" she snapped, not taking her eyes off the dog. Ceodore meant well, as usual, but he didn't get the point of all of this.

Besides, as much as she had learned the value of teamwork on the trip to the creator's moon, she still preferred to fight alone.

In a one on one fight there was no need to worry about anyone but you and your opponent, and it broke down the list of choices you had to make. Not only that but it was easier to only have yourself to blame for mistakes and losses.

The flamehound swiped at her again, but she was far faster than the clumsily beast and she easily shifted her weight to avoid it.

Despite being coated in fires, there were parts of the it's body where the flames were weaker, diminished.

Ursula grinned and struck with her finger tips, then her fist, elbow, knee and finally her foot in a straight line, heading downward. The flamehound howled and collapsed into the ground, left front leg completely immobilized.

She wasn't expecting it to scuff up the ground with its other front paw and then roar, unleashing a tower of fire her way.

She was still faster, and reacted at the right moment to avoid being caught. Only the tips of her pigtails were singed.

She winced and stood straight again, deciding how to go about round two. She couldn't risk getting close to it unless it was distracted, and that was going to difficult.

It prepared another one of its blazes to throw at her, but she was pulled off balance by someone grabbing her arm and yanking her out of the way.

She glared at Ceodore and gave him a shove, "What are you doing!"

"Keeping you from getting baked alive," he snapped back.

Ursula wanted to smack him, but a thudding noise from behind them reminded her the monster was still out there and had staggered to its feet, trying to attack them. It was weak, and moving awkwardly, but still it lunged at them before sending more flames forward.

The fire scorched a line in the grass and Ursula winced, dodging it again.

She aimed this time for one of its eyes, and when her fist connected, the fiend swiped at her in revenge, knocking her down.

She rolled to the side, leaping to her feet, only to be covered by her unwanted protector again. He nicked the beast, drawing it's attention and running around it slightly before wincing when the flamehound tried to get at him again.

He repelled it with his sword, but the movement was far too cautious to actually do any damage.

Ursula rolled her eyes and called to him, "Ceodore, your metallic weapon is going to melt, are you stupid?!"

"Skin melts too," he retorted, shooting her a quick glare before scrambling away from getting raked by flaming claws.

"I don't need your help," she complained, coming to his side to join him.

It was nostalgic, but still annoying.

He looked ready to nag her again, but they were both blindsided by a whoosh of air going past them that scattered dust every which way. The flamehound wordlessly collapsed as they watched, the dust settling.

Kieran stood in front of the beast and eyed it warily before poking at it a few times to ensure it was dead.

She blinked a few times, annoyed that she hadn't seen that coming either. Deciding to question Kieran later about why he thought he needed to interfere and also when he could suddenly fell a fiend like that with one shot, she instead glanced at Ceodore.

Ursula put her hands on her hips, "I had it under control,"

Kieran rolled his eyes at them both with another sigh, "Your welcome…" he muttered under his breath.

She decided to ignore him and continued to stare at Ceodore, who shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking reprimanded.

"I-I know," he said haltingly. "I just…you really shouldn't have picked a fight with one of those things. They aren't that easy to beat."

"Why?" she retorted sharply, "Because you couldn't do it?"

He winced and she felt a flash of guilt for being so unkind to him when he was just trying to help. As much as she prided herself on not being a damsel that needed saving in the least, Ceodore was never going to lose his overprotective nature.

Still, she was flustered and frustrated, and it was all too easy to blame him when he was standing in front of her.

Kieran glanced between them again, as he had been doing all day, and she noted the frown on his face before he sighed. Walking between them, he commented under his breath, "Either we catch up to everyone else or you two duel, make up your mind, because next time I'm letting you two get cooked."

She glared at him, though he made a valid point.

Apparently fed up with their arguments, he left them behind and climbed back up the hill without waiting for them to catch up, or even to check if they were coming at all.

Ursula sighed and brushed dust off her clothing, feeling badly.

They climbed the incline to meet up with the others, and Ursula was actually surprised none of them were reprimanded by the adults present for being so reckless.

Kieran was pinning her with a look, which made her bit her lip. He jerked his head towards Ceodore, as if bossing her into talking with him.

She sighed, wondering when he decided to be group conscious. Though, his attitude did prove her suspicions that he was meddling on purpose.

Ursula swallowed and caught up to the prince, looping her arm around his and smiling slightly at the way he gave her a confused, stiff and fearful expression.

"Thank you," she said.

He sighed and looked up ahead, going back to being fidgety, although she didn't remove her arm.

"I know you can take care of yourself," he said as way of explanation.

Ursula followed his gaze, seeing now that the castle and city were finally visible. "I know you know,"

"I just don't get why you take risks," Ceodore finished, glancing back at her. He still looked worried that she was going to punch him.

She gave his arm a squeeze, "I think you do."

He stopped walking and turned to face her, expression thoughtful. "Ursula, you don't have anything to prove."

She grinned, "Well, not to you,"

"Not to anyone," he argued, looking genuinely worried of her thought process. She just smiled sadly and wove their fingers together, mumbling; "Somehow I knew you would say that,"

He hesitated, obviously trying to gather enough courage to say something specific to her. Finally he squeezed her hand, "It's good to see you again. I've missed you."

Ursula smiled back, "Yeah, you too."

She pulled her hand free and socked him hard in the arm, narrowing her eyes, "Now, don't you _ever_ interfere in another fight of mine!"

He cringed and rubbed his arm, "Crystals, Ursula that hurt!"

"Serves you right."

Kieran sighed up ahead and she scowled at him, "I'm coming for you, next."

He tossed up his hands, clearly unconcerned.

Ursula could see Raj giving her looks from the edge of her vision and finally she turned to him, wondering what his looks were for.

"What?" she asked.

He pointed down the hill at the smoldering corpse of the flamehound, "You went looking for a fight! What is wrong with you?!"

She blinked, surprised by his outburst, "I don't know what you're so upset about…I wanted to test my skills."

"But…you picked a fight, you went _looking_ for one!" he complained.

Ursula sighed and smiled slightly, "Just because I'm a princess, doesn't mean-"

Raj cut her off, waving away her comment with a scoff, "Not that, you strike first, you antagonized that monster! Are you crazy?!"

"No, I'm confident in my abilities. Besides, it would have attacked anyway…"

Raj's eyes were wide, "But I thought our skills were defensive only,"

Ursula frowned and put one hand on her hip, "Yes and no.

He gave her a skeptical look and she blinked at him, "Care to argue? You do realize who you're talking too, right? You know who trains me?"

He said nothing, and she couldn't tell if the look on his face was haughty or chastised.

Deciding she should be nicer to the kid, she sighed and dropped her defensive posture. "Look, Raj, you're not wrong. Our fighting style is based off of using your opponent's strengths against them, it involves waiting for someone to strike at you so you can counter, but that doesn't limit you to only being defensive. Sometimes you have to strike first."

Raj seemed to think it over and then walked past her, muttering, "Whatever. I don't care, anyway."

She rolled her eyes.

Ceodore chuckled, "Careful Ursula, you might end up with a student when this is all said and done,"

She grinned, "Well, like Kieran said earlier; the world could use more awesome in it,"

* * *

After traveling most of the day, they finally arrived at the castle when the sun was starting to set, and Ceodore was just glad they'd only gotten in one fight. He had no desire to fight more fiends then was needed on this trip or any other.

He'd been to Eblan a handful of times, and every time, he'd gotten lost within minutes of stepping into the castle. This time they were greeted by Izayoi at the gate, who looked bored.

"Late," she commented. It was neither a reprimand nor a statement, it sounded like just a single word. She was perched precariously on a ledge above them, busy braiding her hair by the looks of it.

Tsukinowa seemed to materialize out of thin air and popped into view with a flourish. "Welcome!" he greeted, overly cheerful.

"Sorry we're late," Ceodore said. He actually hadn't thought they were expected at a certain time.

Tsukinowa looked confused and then grinned sheepishly, "Oh, ignore Izayoi that comment was actually for me."

"Too busy stalking Porom?" the dark haired woman asked.

"I was not!" he hissed, glaring at her.

Izayoi shrugged.

He sighed and turned back around, composing himself again, "So, how was your trip?"

Ursula shrugged, "The usual. Who else has arrived?"

The boy seemed to think it over, eyes looking upward, "Hmm…Mysidia's visitors, your parents, Ursula, some of Leo's friends…"

"Harley," Izayoi added, hopping off her seat to land next to Tsukinowa, who nodded.

She glanced at them all and then turned, waving them with her, "Alright, come on inside. We got elected to meet you…Edge and Rydia are busy with Ursula's parents, I think."

Tsukinowa glanced over his shoulder at them, "Also, please try to keep up and not wander off. I don't want you to get lost."

"It would be funny, though," Izayoi muttered.

He chuckled.

Kain glared at them both, "You two have got to be the worst welcome wagon…There was no one else Edge or Rydia could send to meet us?"

Izayoi pursed her lips at him, "This isn't a world gathering for anything but fun, but you don't know what that word means, so I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"You know what fun is?" he countered, "How much alcohol did it take before you figured it out?"

"About as much as it takes to get you drunk; half a glass."

Ceodore glanced at Ursula, who shrugged, looking as baffled by their bickering as he felt.

Kieran finally groaned, "Okay, not that I and probably everyone else here wouldn't want to see you two fight this out, we're blocking the hall."

Ceodore realized he was right; Eblan's hallways were tight anyway, and they were getting a few annoyed looks by people trying to make it past them.

"Great, you brought mister glass half empty," Izayoi griped.

Kain looked slightly amused, "Actually, as I understand it, your princess invited him."

Izayoi sighed, obviously annoyed and Tsukinowa chuckled, "We should have guests more often, this is fun!"

Everyone looked at him, some with amusement, others in disbelief.

Ceodore stifled his own laughter, thinking that this was going to be an interesting few days, and how he hoped it wouldn't come to anything but harmless teasing.

"_Ceodore_!"

Everyone present winced at the loud, high pitched shriek. Ceodore sighed and closed his eyes, "Pamela."

He heard someone snicker next to him, and had to assume it was probably Kieran laughing at his bad fortune as usual.

The little girl bounded into view and skipped over, blonde pigtails bouncing around her wildly. She latched onto his leg with a squeal of delight only to be reprimanded from down the hallway.

Porom frowned as she walked over, "Pamela, indoor voice."

The little girl actually, for the first time Ceodore could ever remember, looked contrite. "Sorry auntie Porom," she mumbled, though her grip didn't loosen at all.

Ursula grinned at him, "Always popular wherever we go,"

"You'll get used to be outshined by mister perfect, Ursula. Just you wait." Kieran remarked, shrugging.

Ceodore glared at them both, but was distracted by Pamela starting to chatter about what she'd been up to this past year. Honestly he only caught every other word since she talked fast.

Porom sighed and commented to no one in particular, "I guess I should be glad that Bud takes after Leonora more…"

Despite mentioning Pamela's younger brother, the boy didn't seem to be present, though he was probably still here somewhere.

"H-hi Porom," Tsukinowa welcomed shyly.

Izayoi rolled her eyes.

Porom smiled a greeting, "Hello. By the way, Palom sends his regards. He's rather miffed about not being able to come. He's been held up at the council meetings lately."

"But you weren't?" Kain asked, giving her a look.

Porom looked the slightest bit smug, "The white mages aren't the problem."

"A first," Kieran remarked, earning an elbow to the side from Ursula.

The pink haired woman either chose to ignore the comment or didn't hear it, and instead turned to the boy sulking in the doorway. "You must be Leo's friend Raj!"

He frowned at her, "So?"

Porom, ever kind, just kept smiling, "Come with me. I'll take you to find him. I think he's still out back with Rainbow and Felix."

"Whatever…" Raj muttered, though he followed her regardless.

Izayoi glanced at Tsukinowa and nodded her head towards the departing group. He heisted, she pointed, and finally he sighed and hurried to catch up.

At the end of the hallway, Porom called back, "Pamela!"

The little girl sighed but disentangled herself from Ceodore all the same. "I'll see you later, I still have to tell you so much!"

She dashed off and once she was out of sight, Ceodore sighed.

"Every time I see her I think she's going to have grown out of her crush on me…"

Kieran made a face, "If Ursula hasn't in all these years, what makes you think Pamela will?"

Ursula wheeled around and socked him hard in the arm, "Kieran, shut up!"

He winced and grabbed his arm, muttering under his breath, "Well it's only the truth,"

She hit him again.

Ceodore glared at Kieran, annoyed and flustered he would bring up such a taboo topic. It wasn't like the young man wasn't sarcastic and biting about pretty much everything. Ceodore had endured enough of his teasing to know that, but he still wished that a handful of topics were off limits.

His relationship with Ursula was one of them. Especially in public.

Kain sighed and closed his eyes. Izayoi grinned at him, "What a fun trip you must have had here,"

"Direct me to the nearest location of alcohol." he replied.

Kieran was rubbing his arm where Ursula had taken out her annoyance, but he looked around and commented, "Hey, where's Cuore?"

Ceodore likewise looked around, realizing that he hadn't seen the teal haired young woman at all. It was odd that she hadn't come to greet them, and he felt a flash of guilt it was _Kieran_ of all people to notice her absence first.

Izayoi was frowning, looking anything but pleased when she replied to the question, crossing her arms. "Cuore is…busy with a project. She'll be at her party, but likely you won't see her until then."

The three friends exchanged a round of glances, and Ceodore was glad he wasn't the only one that found their friend's absence odd, and the explanation of where she was, odder still.

Izayoi turned and started to walk away, "Come on. I'll show you to your rooms. Because apparently tour guide is suddenly in my job description…"

* * *

Ceodore fiddled with the straps on his pack, gathering his courage to speak up. He didn't want to bring the topic up, but he felt like he had to say something.

"Could you not do that?"

Kieran looked confused as he glanced over his shoulder, "What, look out the window?"

Ceodore rolled his eyes, "No, make comments about Ursula and I,"

His friend stared at him.

The prince looked away, pretending to study the opposite end of their shared guest room. "I mean, comments about us, being together, or…not together I guess is more accurate…"

Kieran crossed his arms and leaned back against the vertical beam separating the two windows, "I'm not really following what you're upset about."

Ceodore sighed, "I don't like having it brought up around people. We're not in a relationship,"

"Yes, and why is that?" Kieran interrupted. "For as long as I've known you, you've had a crush on her, and I'm pretty sure for that same amount of time she's been crushing on you. So I really don't get it."

"It's difficult to explain," he said haltingly, "The whole situation is-"

His friend cut him off again, "If you say the word complicated, I'll punch you in the face…again."

Ceodore frowned and Kieran held up his hands in surrender, "Alright, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just extra sarcastic today. If it makes you feel better, I promise to be more sensitive of your feelings and I will try to not bring it up."

The prince wrinkled his nose, "Can you not put it like that? I sound like a baby…"

"If the shoe fits…"

Ceodore reached behind and grabbed a pillow off the bed before chucking it at Kieran's head, "Crystals, why am I even friends with you!"

He didn't actually mean it, and his friend knew that as well as he winced from the pillow strike before bending to pick it back up. He grinned, "Besides, no offense Kieran but you giving love advice is kind of laughable."

"Better me then Kain," he countered, tossing the pillow back onto the bed before collapsing onto his own and staring at the wall. "Now, can we talk about something of sincere importance?"

Ceodore noticed where his gaze had gone, "Like who the hell decorated this room?"

"Exactly." Kieran said, still staring. "Don't let your mom hear you talk like that. She's going to wash your mouth out with soap,"

"And give you another demerit for being a bad influence," Ceodore teased, grinning at him.

Kieran shrugged, not concerned. He pointed at the wall, "Do you think we'd get in trouble for taking those creepy masks off the wall?"

"Who's going to know if we put them back up before we leave?" Ceodore suggested.

"Good, because there's no way I'm getting any sleep with those things staring at me all night." he admitted, frowning. "Do you think they decorated these rooms badly on purpose?"

Ceodore wanted to deny that they would do such a thing but then he stopped to think about it, about who they were actually talking about.

"Hmm…it's possible…"

Kieran suddenly grinned wickedly, "I'd hate to see Kain's room, then,"

Ceodore snickered.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Well, I've had the majority of this written for months, now, but every time I look at it I'm just "Meh" about it...Still, I decided to finish it and post it and you can be the judges if it's bad.**

**I wanted to start off the story with all four of our POV being featured, which is a challenge for me to write but should provide some great story telling!**

**Not much else to say...this story is going to be a long one, filled with so much sass and snark it's scary, lots of drama of the romantic kind and plenty of creepy sci-fi-ish goodies.**

**Also I may have opened up some cans of character development words...what have I gotten myself into?**


	3. Harmony

**Even though I think only five people are reading this story, here's chapter 2!**

**Also, look, a cover image...**

* * *

The sun was just going down as Cuore ducked through a gap in the outer wall, pausing to tug her hair free from the jagged stone. It had been easier to sneak out when she was smaller, but one of these days she would have to tell someone about that gap before her brother or sister figure out where it was.

It she had snuck out of the castle when she was eight, she could only guess her siblings weren't going to be any different.

Keeping to the back streets and less known pathways, she dashed through the darkening city, hoping no one would see her.

Izayoi was going to have her head if she showed up any later then she was already going to be, and it would be so much easier to feign that she had lost track of time if she was already inside the castle.

The steps were light as she ran, and she grinned, hopping over some discarded crates before rounding a corner and coming to the last leg of her journey.

The repairs on Bab-Il were slow going, but she had at least left with the main components intact for the most part. She would have to return to finish, and to implement all the new safety features she wanted too.

But for tonight, she wasn't the technical genius and last Maenad, or even the High Summoner, she was simply Cuore, and she was going to enjoy her birthday party and the company of her family.

Tonight, she would be _normal_.

The high walls of the castle were in front of her and she scrambled up and over, grabbing at a handful of vines and grinning to herself, wondering if her father had ever used similar tricks to skulk about.

She suspected he did, and maybe someday she would ask him. Someday when she wouldn't get in trouble for doing the same thing.

It was a tiring climb to her window, especially since the vines didn't travel all the way up, and at some point she would have to use ledges and uneven stones.

Once she pushed her window open, glad she had remembered to leave it open when she'd left a week ago, she felt a wave of familiarity wash over her.

Her room had barely changed in all her years in Eblan, and she was grateful for the stability. This was her home, and nowhere else in the world had ever felt so _right_ to her.

The sun had just about disappeared completely below the mountains far away as her bare feet touched the cold floor.

Cuore glanced around and spotted a package on her bed, out of place in the overly orderly space.

She approached and tipped her head to one side, curious.

There was a note attached and she plucked it from the box with a gentle frown, debating on reading the note first or just opening the gift.

She opted to be good and read the note, and sat on the edge of her bed, unfolding it and smiling at her mother's familiar handwriting.

"_Cuore,_

_Your father and I already know you will most likely be late, so we've decided to leave you one of your gifts a little early. Wear it to your party, my small lady!_

_We'll see you there,"_

Now even more curious, she lifted the lid and pulled back some of the paper, finding a stunning gown made of shimmering, magical laced fabric that was undoubtedly created by the Eidolons. The cut of the dress made her a little nervous, as it was far more exposed then she would have liked her shoulders to be, but the workmanship on the piece was far too nice to pass up.

Rydia had a similar gown made of the same ethereal fabric, but its colors shifted the entire spectrum of greens, accented with gold and yellows. This one tilted more to the blues and purples, and she had to grin at the wing motif on the trimmings, knowing that was a personal touch by someone in the Feymarch that knew her well.

Cuore ran her fingertips over the silky fabric, finding the feel of it oddly comforting and nostalgic. She remembered the feel of the materials the Eidolons made from when she was a little girl, as she had always pulled with the skirt of mother's dresses.

She admired her mother greatly, and wished that the world saw her more like that, rather than the Maenads. But she supposed she would never live up to the idealized image of Rydia, no matter how much she wanted too.

They would always be compared to one another, that was unavoidable, but Cuore suspected she'd always fall short in every aspect.

The gown felt nice on, and even though she found clothing to be superfluous, she had to take a moment to admire the dress once it was one, amused by the fanciness of it all.

There were shoes in the box too, but she purposely ignore those and gave the skirt a twirl to make sure no one would notice the lack of her footwear. The cut of the gown was thankfully long enough that if she was careful, no one would know.

Cuore had long since given up trying to wrangle her hair into any semblance of style and just dragged the comb through the locks one last time with a grimace. If she had the time to spare, she may have tried to do something fancy with jeweled clips or meaningful pins, but she was already late and didn't feel like struggling with it this evening.

Her gaze caught her reflection in the large scale mirror on her wall in front of her vanity and she paused in her wild movements to chew on her lip.

For some reason, she always thought she would feel older whenever her birthday rolled around. But then again, she had no idea when her actual creation date was. She'd always just used the first day she'd stepped foot on this planet as the date to celebrate.

Since her sibling's birthdays were so close together to hers, they usually requested to celebrate them all at once, over the course of a few days.

Cuore tipped her head to one side, taking a moment to brush aside some of her unruly teal locks and lick her chapped lips.

There were days when she hardly recognized her reflection anymore, and the thoughts startled her. She wasn't sure if it was because she was growing up, or because she was feeling unsure of herself, but something in the air felt off.

Cuore sighed and flipped her hair over her shoulders and hurried from the room, knowing full well Izayoi was going to scold her.

But still, it was her birthday party; couldn't she be a little late? She'd been told that eighteen was an important year, after all.

The hallways were largely empty, since everyone was either attending the party or working behind the scenes for the event, and Cuore ran on the balls of her bare feet, wondering just how many rooms of their castle would have to be taken up to fit all the people supposedly coming. It wasn't like they had grand ballrooms or spaces designed for large parties.

She suspected they would just leave some doors and false walls open, allowing people to mill around in the throne room and the chambers directly around it.

There may be a chance she could have snuck in, but as she reached the doors she slowed and steeled herself for a rush of chaos. The doors were tall and heavy cast iron and carved with decorative engravings.

She smiled as she remembered her first visit to Eblan, where she asked her father what the symbols meant. He'd made a weird face and said; "Nothing, they just look cool."

With a flick of her hair a deep breath, Cuore pushed hard against the doors, opening them wide.

Instantly noise assaulted her and she did her best not to wince or let the sensations over power her.

There was music and laughter and the babble of conversation weaving through bright lights, erratic movement and a myriad of scents.

Cuore had always been highly sensitive to the world around her, and that trait hadn't faded over the years. It was something she'd gotten used to, and more often than not it didn't hinder her. She just had to remember her limitations.

She grinned as she entered the room, only to be tackled almost instantly by her mother, who gave her a crushing hug only to scold her a moment later.

"Late, to your own party?"

Cuore just hugged her back and commented, "Well, I learned from the best. What was it they always said? Habitually tardy?"

Rydia scoffed as she released her adoptive daughter, "Well, at least you showed up,"

"I said I would." she replied, smiling.

Her mother looked her over, making Cuore fidget, always wanting to hear approval from her parents, even though she knew she had little to fear that they would ever be ashamed of her.

"You look lovely," Rydia said, smiling.

Cuore shrugged, smoothing down the skirt, "The Eidolons did a nice job,"

"You should have heard them arguing about who got to work on it," her mother teased, crossing her arms. "Do you like it?"

She looked up and nodded, feeling slightly shy to admit that it did make her feel pretty. "Yes," she said, "I do. Thank you."

Rydia smiled again, "I think you are the last to arrive, Cuore. I've seen every other friend of yours, I think."

Cuore nodded and with a brief glance around the crowded room, she asked, "Where are my adorable younger siblings?"

"Off mingling." her mother answered, "Leo was very excited to see his friends here."

Cuore frowned lightly, "I'm just sorry we couldn't find that Titania girl he's always talking about…did you hear? He said he saw her in Mysidia when he went with you to visit Felix…"

Rydia likewise made a face, "If he did, I didn't see her. But yes, a shame we don't know where she is staying. Still, he seemed excited to see the other three."

"What about Pamela?" Cuore asked jokingly.

"Well…" he mother said, trying to be diplomatic. "He was very nice to her, even if she did invite herself to this whole event."

Cuore chuckled and nodded, turning back to her mother and flashing her a grin, "This was nice of you and dad, thank you."

Rydia smiled and hugged her again, "You are welcome, my small lady."

When she pulled back, her smile turned a tad rueful, "That name doesn't fit you anymore, you're so grown up…"

Cuore groaned, "Mom, please don't start with that. You sound like _Rosa_."

Rydia swatted her on the shoulder, "Oh, go and have fun,"

She giggled and duck into the thick of the crowds, dodging through knots of people, happy that for once, she could be at one of these events without worry.

No one here would call her names, no one here would question her activities, no one here would glare at her, and most importantly, no one here had the last name of Dahl.

She was tackled into another hug rather quickly and laughed, "Ursula, let up, too tight!"

"Ah! Cuore, finally you showed up!" the blonde princess said, cheerful as always. She released her, smiling, and gestured to her dress, "Lovely as always!"

Cuore rolled her eyes, finding that statement coming from someone like Ursula, who was the image of perfection, rather silly.

"Where's Ceodore?" she asked, looking around. "Usually you two are joined at the hip…"

Ursula frowned, "Don't even start that tonight,"

"It's _my_ birthday,"

"Not a free pass to harass your friends," the princess countered, holding up her index finger. She waved off the comments a moment later, "To answer your question, he's talking with…oh, what is that guy's name…the one from Damcyan that plays like five different instruments?"

Cuore nodded, "I know who you mean."

Ursula smiled again, "Anyway, I heard from your brother that you've been spending a lot of time at the Tower of Babil,"

She averted her gaze. She'd been hoping to avoid that topic for the night. She'd already decided to spend a few weeks back here before returning and trying to finish her work. She missed her family and desired their company.

"Yes, I've been trying to reprogram the mainframe and also put in new safety measures."

Ursula nodded, "Makes sense, I guess…"

Ceodore had wandered up at the moment and looked confused, "What makes sense?"

"That you owe me a dance," Ursula replied without missing a beat.

He frowned, gave her a confused look and then smiled at Cuore, "It's good to see you! I had a bet going with Rolf about how long it would take you to show up,"

"Rolf," Ursula repeated under her breath. "One of these days I'll remember his name…"

"You really should," Ceodore commented, "he has a crush on you after all."

"He does not,"

"He does too!"

Cuore shook her head and shot a quick wave to the other party goer in question. He waved back before returning to his conversation with someone Cuore didn't recognize.

She'd only met the bard in training once, but surprisingly enough, he didn't bother her. He was a bit empty headed and couldn't hold a conversation to save his life, but he seemed nice enough. Besides, she would be lying if she said she hadn't struggled to find people she desired to spend her birthday with.

While her two close friends pretended not to be having a lover's spat, Cuore scanned the rest of the room, waving too a few more familiar faces she happened to spot and catch their attention. She saw Leo briefly as he darted through a few people, Pamela hot on his heels before losing her when he slid on the polished flooring, under a table.

She turned back to the royalty in front of her and flashed them a grin, "Hey, I need to find my dad. I'll catch you later, okay?"

Ursula sighed, "Alright, fine…" Ceodore likewise looked disappointed and she shrugged, "Sorry, I promise I'll find you later."

They both waved her off and she sidestepped Tsukinowa attempting to dazzle a bored looking Harley with his origami skills. Since Damcyan's king couldn't attend the event he'd personally sent his poor secretary to deliver his gift. Harley seemed less than thrilled by this plan.

Zangestu had long since wondered off, and Gekkou was at least attempting to be social. As for Izayoi, well, Cuore knew which corner was her favorite so she assumed that's where she was. If she wasn't drinking with Kain, and probably later, Harley.

She paused briefly when movement caught her eye so she turned, making a face when she noticed Sheila animatedly showing how to swing a frying pan to a terrified looking Leonora and an amused looking Porom. What sort of story that was, Cuore wasn't sure, but it made her snicker.

She continued along her trip, stopping briefly to look over the table of food before frowning and wondering who besides her mother her father would be spending time with.

"Blade dancer,"

Cuore smiled slowly, knowing without a doubt who was trying to get her attention. There was only one person who called her that, after all.

She spun around, "Cloud biter, I wasn't sure you'd actually come,"

Kieran frowned, "You invited me,"

She shrugged and took a few steps closer so they could hear each other better and she wouldn't be in the way of guests trying to get from one end of the room to the other.

As usual, Kieran had chosen the most empty part of the room and decided to set up camp there, leaning against the wall as if he couldn't stand up straight and looking mildly bored.

"Yes, but I still wasn't entirely sure you'd show up," she teased, tipping her head to one side. "One can never know with you, Sir Astor."

He made a face and looked away, "If I can't call you High Summoner, you can't call me that."

Cuore chuckled and leaned her side against the wall so she could face him, "And here I thought you'd be bragging all night about your new position and title,"

"Ah," he said, looking back to her in an almost patronizing way, "but bragging is _your_ favorite past time."

Cuore scoffed and rolled on her shoulder so that her back rested against the wall, staring out at the party with a smile.

After so much drama between the two of them, she finally felt like things were as normal as they would ever get. She no longer thought through every word that passed through her lips in Kieran's presence, and she found herself actually enjoying his bad attitude on occasion. Then again, she thought he was much less bitter then in years past, but maybe that was just because they were getting along.

He was her friend, and she respected and trusted him. She was glad he had accepted her invitation to come this evening. It wouldn't have felt right to not have him here.

Cuore glanced at him again, trying to remember when the last time she'd seen him had been. They really only saw each other a handful of times throughout the year; summit meetings, mutual friend's celebrations and the occasional world gathering were the only real chances of a meeting.

She had been glad to hear he finally passed his initiation. Better late than never, she supposed. Kieran had always seemed to have such bad luck. Timing in his life was always off, and some of those circumstances she felt his misfortune was her fault.

Still, despite considering him her friend, she did get annoyed with his sometimes gloomy outlook on life. Not only that, but she still preferred to carry on a conversation with him when he wasn't in uniform.

She couldn't figure out why she was always so uneasy when he was in his armor, but she preferred his normal clothing instead.

Like tonight.

Granted, she swore he only knew one color existed, and she was pretty sure he owned multiple duplicates of the same outfit, but she wasn't an expert in fashion herself.

"By the way," Kieran said after a moment, frowning again. "I'm mad at you."

She blinked and looked up at him, "Why?"

"Because you missed some of those mind numbing world gatherings." he complained, turning to look at her. "We're supposed to be social outcasts together, Cuore. We're supposed to stand in the corner of the room and complain about having to attend the functions. We're supposed to make fun of Ceodore and Ursula, and make smart remarks to pass the time."

Cuore was giggling by the time he finished with the final statement of; "You abandoned me."

"I'm sorry," she said, smiling at him in what she hoped was an apologetic fashion. "I did let you down, didn't I? Who else but me would willingly spend time with you?"

Kieran grinned, "Outcasts, remember?"

"Hey, not everyone is as socially inept as you," she countered.

He shrugged, "You're a regular butterfly,"

Cuore glared at him, "May I remind you that it's _my_ birthday? You could try to be a little nicer, you know."

He heaved a lengthy sigh, "I could, but then I thought…nah."

She rolled her eyes.

"Cu!"

The night was a night for distractions and with the latest cry of delight Cuore's eyes widened along with her smile and spun around to greet the newcomer.

Her little sister bounded over, braided pigtails bouncing with the movement, and stopped to look up at her. "Cu! Happy birthday!"

For some reason, her little sister had difficulty with names that were longer than three letters. Cuore had learned to get over it.

"Well," she said, dropping to her knees to be at eye level with the two year old, "Happy birthday to you as well, little sister!"

The girl beamed at her and held something up, "Look! Su gave me this!"

Cuore chuckled lightly, "A crane, how original…"

She picked her sister up and stood, cradling the child in her arms and grinning at Kieran, "This is my little sister Seren. I don't think you've met her yet."

"Hi!" Seren greeted cheerfully.

Even someone as grumpy as Kieran could be wasn't able to not at least grin in the face of Seren's cuteness.

"I have not met your little sister," he said, grinning at her. "I hear it's your birthday today, too, little princess."

Seren nodded seriously, "It is. I'm two."

She glanced at Cuore and gave her a most devious smile. The teal haired young woman sighed, "Seren, what's the look for?"

The little girl giggled, "Nothing."

Cuore was skeptical, but decided she could figure it out later and turned to Kieran with a slight shrug.

Her sister's hair was a somewhat muted, metallic color while her eyes shared Leo's coloring. Cuore gave her a final hug before setting her back on her feet, where she ran off, probably to find another member of her family, or maybe Leonora's and Palom's second child, Bud.

They were the only children their age around, and so they bonded because of mutual boredom, Cuore suspected.

"Seren?" Kieran questioned once she had sped off.

Cuore nodded, "It means 'star'. And she lives up to that namesake…I swear, Leo got all my mother's caution and Seren got all my father's…charisma."

"So that's what we're calling it now," Kieran remarked.

Cuore smacked his shoulder, grinning, "She's a handful, and already a wily one, but she has as good heart, just like Leo."

"And like her older sister,"

There were times when Kieran caught her off guard by saying something extraordinarily _nice._ And he always unbalanced her to where she all she could do was huff, roll her eyes at him and nervously play with her hair.

Because she couldn't decide if she was annoyed or flattered.

Someone called her name from across the room and, glad for the distraction, she turned to wave back at a handful of her acquaintances from the city, slightly touched they made the time to even come here.

She considered them friends, but she wasn't one to get that close to people. Usually her self-imposed isolation made others wary of her and she didn't blame them. But there were those she had earned the respect of, and in turn, they had earned her trust.

"Oh, prove me wrong about being an outcast, will you," Kieran muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

Cuore rolled her eyes and turned back to look at him, smirking, "It's not my fault you could count all your friends on one hand, cloud biter."

He shrugged, "Quality over quantity."

"Well, when your friends with me, there's nowhere to go but down from there," she replied with purposeful pride.

Kieran rolled his eyes and batted her arm in exasperation, making her chuckle.

"Oh," he mentioned, "I don't know if Ceodore told you that Cecil and Rosa were very sorry they couldn't come. It's just because of all the flooding lately. We were supposed to tell you that,"

Cuore nodded, one hand on her hip, "They already sent a letter saying something similar, and I saw that huge package that arrived…"

"You know how they are," he said, shrugging.

She nodded again, "True. Any idea what's inside?"

"Nope."

Cuore sighed, not overly fond of surprises.

She smiled at another person who walked by and wished her a happy birthday.

When she turned back, Kieran gave her a funny look and she tipped her head to one side, prompting him to speak up. "Why don't you go enjoy your party, blade dancer."

"I am," she commented, puzzled.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, steering her around to face the rest of the room. She frowned and tried not to stiffen when he spoke quietly into her ear, "No, you're ignoring most of your guests. Go and have fun, Cuore."

She glanced over her shoulder, "What about you?"

"I'm socially inept, remember?" he teased, adding as if it was an afterthought; "I owe you a dance later, but for now, I see some people who want to wish their favorite summoner a good birthday."

Startled, Cuore spun around as soon as he released her arm, "I hate dancing, and so do you,"

Kieran was already walking away and just tossed over his shoulder, "Doesn't mean I don't still owe you one, blade dancer. You _are_ the birthday girl, right?"

She blew out a sigh that sounded like a huff and scowled at him, though she wasn't sure if he even noticed.

"_As annoying as ever_," she thought, taking a moment to compose herself. Someone interrupted her thoughts and tackled her into a hug.

"Cuore!"

Her eyes widened and grasped onto the arms wrapped around her, wishing the person would detach from her side so she could confirm their identity.

"_It almost sounds like_…"

The girl let go and bounced into her view, face alit with pure joy.

"Sarah?" she affirmed, blinking.

The young woman nodded, curled brown hair framing her face. "Yes, it's me! Surprise!"

Cuore laughed and pulled her into another hug, "Oh! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since…"

She trailed off, realizing the last time they'd seen each other wasn't a good meeting. Under partial control, she'd gone to Mist to obtain one of the lost Eidolons, Zodiark.

Sarah had been one of the few villagers to welcome her at all. Most of them were wary of her existence. After the debacle of stealing Zodiark from them, she'd never gone back, too afraid to face the wrath of former friends.

Sarah giggled, "Oh, I know, it's been forever! I can't believe you're eighteen! The Feymarch does alter ages, I suppose…I only turned fifteen this past winter…"

Cuore released her and gave her a once over before her brow furrowed in confused, "Sarah, what are you doing here?"

"I came to wish you a happy birthday," the girl replied, as if the answer should have been obvious. "Are you…happy to see me?"

The end of her statement held an air of nerves and Cuore blinked at her again, confused. "Of course I'm happy to see you."

Sarah smiled slowly, "I…wasn't sure. I mean, I know last time was…not the best but…well,"

Cuore shook her head and pulled her into another hug, "Sarah, things could have gone better, I know, and for that, I am sorry. But you are my friend. It's good to see you."

She exhaled and returned the embrace, "Oh, it's good to see you too, Cuore. I've missed you, you know. Mist is so boring without you there…and High Summoner Rydia, too."

Releasing her, she frowned lightly, "I am surprised your mother let you come,"

Sarah let her gaze wander, "Oh, it took some coaxing, but…well, you know High Summoner Rydia's been back for some visits this past year. I'm sure she had something to do with it,"

The fact that her mother had managed to keep something a secret from her was surprising, but it was a good surprise. She could forgive her for keeping a secret this special. And the fact that Sarah was forgiving and kind put Cuore at ease.

She'd burned so many bridges in her time on this planet that she felt like she had no where she could go without running into trouble. The worst part was, she had no idea how to fix the damage.

Sarah's eyes lit up and she clasped one of Cuore's arms with both her hands, "Oh! The trip here…I've never been on the ocean before! It was…so big! And this castle!"

She laughed and gestured around, "I can't believe you live _here_!"

Cuore followed her motion with her eyes, confused, and shrugged, "It's just a large structure,"

"Cuore, it's a _castle_!" Sarah said, shaking her head, "It's a big deal! You're so lucky, I bet you've had so many adventures…" She rolled her eyes, "I wish I could go on an adventure, but I don't even have what it takes to cast magic. My life is so boring…"

The young woman bit her lip, "I'm so underdressed…"

Cuore wasn't sure how to make her feel better but she was distracted anyway by Sarah leaning closer, "But enough about me, I want to hear about you! What do you do here? Have you seen the whole world by now? How many Eidolons can you call? Can I meet them? I want to know everything!"

Cuore chuckled, "This could take a while if you want to know _everything_,"

"Good," Sarah said, grinning. "It means I'll have to stay longer." She paused and glanced over her shoulder and then leaned closer and dropped her voice. "By the way, who was that you were talking to a minute ago?"

Cuore frowned thoughtfully, "Kieran? He's a friend."

Sarah grinned, "Really now? He's cute."

"'Cute' isn't an adjective I'd use to describe Kieran…" Cuore replied in a confused fashion.

Her friend giggled and dragged her further into the party, "Oh, never mind. Come on, I want to steal you for a few minutes and then I promise I'll let you get back to your other friends."

* * *

True to Sarah's word, she released Cuore back into the thick of her party after an hour of catching up. The girl promised that they would spend more time together, since she didn't return to Mist until the day after tomorrow. Cuore was happy with that arrangement, feeling overwhelmed as the evening progressed.

She still needed to find her father, not to mention she owed Ceodore and Ursula more time as well. And apparently Kieran wanted to dance.

She shook her head and wove through a knot of people, smiling though she did wish to step outside for a few moments. Although the party was very enjoyable, it was also tiring as only a large scale event could be.

Cuore moved lightly on the balls of her feet, practically sliding around people and tables, trying not to get caught by anyone before she had a chance to rest.

Her plans were foiled when someone snagged her arm as she walked, pulling her backwards and spinning her around all in one motion.

She yelped slightly and quickly regained her footing, shooting a glare over her shoulder.

Edge just grinned at her, "Come on, one dance?"

Cuore rolled her eyes, "Dad,"

"Please?"

"…Fine." she begrudgingly accepted, letting him drag her the rest of the way to the dance floor. She was pleasantly surprised, however, when the music changed to something less formal and morphed into a tune she recognized.

Cuore's eyes lit up, "Is this-"

"Yes," her father answered, still grinning. "If I recall, I danced to this song with you in Mist, way back when."

"If _I_ recall, I told you I didn't understand the purpose of dancing," she retorted.

"Humor your dad, Cuore," he teased.

She giggled and nodded. If she had to dance to something, she would have preferred it to be as uplifting and fun a song as this. There were different instruments then most songs, and the tune was unforgivably fast paced.

Despite not liking dancing, she couldn't help but grin as she matched step for step her father, who finally frowned at her, "I always forget how fast you are,"

"Champions are always fast on their feet," Cuore said, smirking at him.

Edge frowned again and dragged her into a spin, "Rub it in,"

She giggled, "I intend too, thanks."

Cuore bounced through a few steps and her father glanced down and then grinned at her, "Shoes?"

"Don't tell mom," she quickly hissed, spinning again.

He chuckled and she clapped her hands twice to the music before quickly flicking a stray hair off her face and smiling as she moved through the next set of steps. "Thank you for tonight,"

"Anything for the world's best kids," Edge teased.

Cuore rolled her eyes, but as if replying to being mentioned, Leo suddenly appeared and grabbed her arm, grinning. "My turn!"

He glanced over his shoulder at their father and practically ordered, "Go dance with mom or something, sissy's mine."

Cuore giggled, flashing her dad another grin before letting her much younger and shorter brother drag her a few steps away and proceed to attempt to lead the dance. Cuore smiled at him and took his hands in hers, "Leo, happy birthday,"

"Thanks! You too," he said, beaming up at her.

They spun for a few movements of the dance together before Seren attached herself to Cuore's leg, "My turn!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

Leo laughed and grabbed his younger sister in a spin. They danced, rather sloppily, together while Cuore just chuckled, watching them. Sometimes she wished she had been as carefree and oblivious when she was their age. But she was from another place entirely, and there was nothing she could do about it now.

A familiar touch brushed against her hand, gloved fingers coiling around her wrist with a light tug. Cuore didn't have a chance to react properly before she was spun around in a dizzying motion that made her stumble into the person behind her.

"Kieran," she complained, unable to stop a giggle.

"Trying to get a dance with you is harder than I thought," he commented.

Cuore frowned, taking a step back so they were only connected by his hand in hers. "You hate dancing,"

"True, but this music is more my style. Besides, I have a bet going with Kain that if I dance with you, he has to dance. Personally I'd like to see that." Kieran explained, grinning ever so slightly.

Cuore giggled, "Only if it's with Izayoi. I would _pay_ to see that."

"I'll take that as a yes, blade dancer."

She blinked, confused, "A yes to wha-"

He wasted no time in forcing her into a twirl, making Cuore growl under her breath at being tricked.

Once she stopped spinning, she grabbed both his hands and glared, despite the dance steps being upbeat. "You tricked me,"

"You fell for it," Kieran retorted, pushing and pulling her into their steps.

She had to crack a smile at that, annoyed but also amused. By no means was Kieran a good dancer, and she knew from past experience that he hated it as much as she did. But for some reason, he would always make a point to dance with her at any and all functions.

She had grown used to syncing their movements, and this time, with the relaxed atmosphere and familiar music, she found it enjoyable. It wasn't just a distraction from the party going on around her like usual; this time it was an event all itself.

The music ended with a flourish and Cuore grinned at her partner, trying to catch her breath. She blinked when she saw he actually looked _happy_.

"A smile?" she exclaimed, straining to be heard over the applause going on all around them. "I got a smile out of stoic Kieran Astor? This day shall go down in history!"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, even as the music returned to more typical waltz type fare.

Cuore continued to grin, crossing her arms, "You do know it takes more muscles to frown then smile, right? That is a scientific fact,"

"Another scientific fact is that no one likes a know-it-all," Kieran replied smartly.

She rolled her eyes, but was caught off guard as he reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. She stiffened at the unexpected contact and swallowed when he leaned forward to speak into her ear. Even if logically she knew it was to be heard over the noise around them, she still wasn't comfortable with his close proximity.

"In case I didn't tell you yet tonight," he whispered, "you look beautiful."

Cuore averted her gaze, knowing full well her cheeks were likely colored from that comment. "Um, thanks…"

"And," he added with a slightly sarcastic tone, "I see Kain trying to sneak out of here and worm his way out of our bet."

Kieran brushed past her, commenting, "I'll see you later, blade dancer."

She nodded, awkwardly rubbing her arm where his gloved fingers had lingered. Intent on finding some peace and quiet as she had a few minutes ago, she slipped through the crowds and stepped out into the night on one of the balconies.

With a sigh, Cuore leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and taking a moment to sort through the myriad of sensations threatening to overwhelm her at the moment.

The cool breeze from outside helped calm her nerves as she slowly syphoned each sensation away one at a time. First the noise from the party had to go, as it was too much to process. Next the smells from both the night and the event. Her sight was already cleared from her eyes being closed.

For some reason, even after a few moments of peace and quiet, she still felt out of sorts. Her heart rate was irregular, and her body temperature was much too high for being out in the colder climate with parts of her skin exposed.

With a sigh Cuore opened her eyes and walked forward to grip the railing of the balcony, letting her gaze sweep over the castle gardens and then the city below. Further in the distance, she could see the Tower of Babil and the moon alit behind it.

It was almost full and she tipped her head to one side, wondering what that moon, the normal one, looked like.

Anything like the others she knew about?

Leaning her elbows on the railings, she let her mind wander and smiled when her Eidolons contacted her with well wishes for her birthday. Even Barbariccia.

"Thank you," she said in reply, "Your words mean a lot to me."

They were just as much her family as anyone else, and she found their advice and presence sound and comforting. They were a constant in this world of uncertainty and chaos, two things she despised.

Cuore sighed again, resting her chin on her hand, wondering where this year would lead her. She needed to find guidance in her life, someone to tell her what she was supposed to be doing. She felt like she was stumbling through life, only dealing with problems when they arose and never being proactive, never stepping into the future that she had wanted for so long.

In a lot of ways, she had never grown passed that malfunctioning unit that hadn't been assigned a task.

With a shake of her head, she banished the gloomy thoughts and stood up straight, deciding to return to the joyous event she could hear raging behind her. She could deal with the rest of the world tomorrow.

As she turned to step back inside, she nearly collided with Kieran, who had just wandered outside.

"Oh," they both muttered.

Cuore frowned, and before she could say anything, he shifted his gaze and admitted, "I was…taking a break from the excitement inside,"

"As was I," she remarked, crossing her arms and grinning at him. "Find Kain?"

"Nope," he said, shrugging, "What else is new?"

There was an awkward pause and he tapped a quick beat against the doorframe with his fingers before scooting past her and stepping out onto the balcony, taking her former spot and mimicking her earlier pose.

Cuore hesitated briefly before adjusting her clothes and joining him, looking back to the view and squinting against the breeze.

Gathering her courage, she glanced at him and spoke up, quietly so not to startle him, but sincerely, because she felt like it needed to be said. "Thank you for coming tonight,"

Kieran blinked at her, looking surprised, "You don't have to sound so surprised about it,"

"I just…" she averted her gaze, "I wasn't sure you'd come, but it means a lot to me."

He looked mildly amused at her, "The invitation meant a lot to me," he countered.

"Parties are always more fun with you," she said, shrugging and trying to stifle a giggle.

Kieran stared at her flatly, "Then why have you been avoiding so many?"

She blinked at him, surprised by the tip of accusation she could hear in his tone and confused as to what he meant. Noticing her puzzlement, he sighed and continued; "Ceodore, Ursula and I were talking about how many world gatherings you've missed. I haven't seen you in…what, a year?"

Cuore bit her lip and looked down, tightening her hold on the stone in front of her.

"But not all of the meetings and celebrations, just some…the ones in Mysidia, and Baron, though you made it fine to Gilbert's birthday in Damcyan, and Ursula says you've been to visit her at her house recently." he said sharply.

She leaned against the railing, forearms flat against the top and chin almost touching the backs of her hands, "What's your point, Kieran?"

Her tone was more tired than angry, exactly how she felt.

He sighed, "I've noticed a pattern. Your avoiding the places you feel you aren't welcome, the places where…"

Cuore shifted her gaze to him and narrowed her eyes, "Where I've caused damage? Yes, you're right. I'm still waiting for the point of this,"

He scowled at her, "You're distancing yourself. We don't like it."

She looked back to the tower, tracing the moon's outline with her eyes and feeling a mixture of sadness at the truth of their conversation, and delight at being missed.

"I've made a lot of mistakes, hurt a lot of people…I don't want to rub salt in the wounds." she whispered.

Kieran rolled his eyes, she could see it on the edge of her vision. His voice was tainted with mockery when he muttered; "Oh yes, because ignoring things makes them go away so well…"

Cuore stood up and glared at him, but he was already continuing, "Look, Cuore, I know you mean well but…the past has a way of catching up to you no matter what, and as cruel of a place as the world can be, it's worth it. People _can_ be forgiving,"

She paused, snapping her mouth shut when she realized what he meant. The way he fidgeted told her that this was more personal than his words might suggest, and she felt touched that he would care enough to bring it up to her at all.

Deciding to lighten the mood, she grinned and commented, "You just want someone to keep you company at these things,"

Kieran snorted and nodded, "I'll admit that much is true. Whenever we go anywhere, people are all over Ceodore and Ursula, being overly nice and dramatic. It makes me want to gag…"

Cuore chuckled and crossed her arms against the chill of the night, wondering what else she could say. Her parents had likewise been concerned by her pulling away, and if her friends were worried as well then maybe she should rethink her mindset in this matter.

"Thank you."

Her whisper was so soft she wasn't sure if Kieran heard it or not, not until he nodded, though his gaze never left the scenery around them.

Cuore glanced inside, wondering if she should return but hesitating, not wanting to leave the comfortable silence of the balcony. For once, being around Kieran wasn't awkward or irritating, and she wanted to take advantage of it.

Hoping to strike up a conversation, she mentioned as casually as she could muster; "I hope my parents won't be upset at what I plan on giving Leo for his birthday,"

Kieran glanced at her, "If they are, they'll be doubly so at my gift."

Cuore tipped her head to one side, "You got my brother a gift?"

"Well, I have to make him stop hating me somehow," he quipped, shrugging. "Besides, it did us a favor, too. It's a long story, but I suspect I may never be allowed to come to another party here."

Cuore grinned, "I doubt that, cloud biter…"

"I have a gift for you, too," he mentioned.

She perked up, "Really? You didn't have too…it's enough that you came,"

"That is such a lie when people say that," he complained. "Of course people want gifts, that's the point of a birthday party."

She laughed softly and was surprised when he forcibly took her hands and placed a small package in them. She glanced at him and he shrugged, "Anyway, Kain insisted I couldn't come empty handed,"

"I don't see a gift form him anywhere around," she pointed out.

Kieran frowned, "Yeah, good point…"

Cuore worked on unwrapping the box, feeling a little flustered that he had thought to get her anything at all, but all the same warmed that he did.

Nestled inside the box was a thin, silver metal hinged bangle bracelet engraved with what looked like Mysidian runes on it.

"It's an anti-silencing bracelet." Kieran explained. "I'd personally like it if you'd shut up occasionally, but I realize how much you relay on your magic, so…"

Cuore smiled slowly and brushed a stray hair out of her eyes so she could see him. "That is…a thoughtful gift. Thank you."

He shrugged and looked away, mentioning awkwardly, "Yes, well, you are not an easy person to buy anything for. You have everything, meaning you probably have one of these already."

She shook her head, ignoring the feeling of slight insult that he implied she was spoiled, and assured him, "I don't have one, and I like it. Thank you."

Cuore fussed with the bracelet, attempting to get it on, although she had never been able to in the past. She didn't have much luck tonight, either, and quickly grew frustrated with the contraption.

Kieran must have gotten annoyed by watching her because after a few seconds he sighed and grabbed her arm, batting her hand away and latching the clasp closed.

She heard the chime that signaled the magic inside the bracelet was working and felt it align its tone to match her aura's song.

Cuore smiled and glanced up at Kieran, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." he replied, nodding.

There was a brief buzz in her ears before she heard a whisper of speech inside her head; "…_Shouldn't be gone this long from Baron, not with the_…"

She blinked, wondering what _that_ had been. It sounded like a voice in her head, but it was none of her Eidolons and the message didn't appear to be directed to her at all.

Cuore was confused, but the uncomfortable thought that she had just read Kieran's mind wouldn't fade. She didn't dare bring it up; she wasn't eager for that sort of conversation with the young man.

Hopefully it wasn't what she thought, and hopefully it wouldn't happen again.

"Sissy!" someone called from the doorway, making them both turn towards the sound. Leo was leaning out the door, eyes bright and a smile on his face, though his expression shifted and his eyes narrowed at Kieran into what could be considered a glare.

Realizing her brother's dislike of the dark haired young man she freed her hand from his, embarrassed about the contact at all.

"Yes, Leo?" she asked, proud of herself for keeping her voice even.

He stopped glaring at Kieran to look back at her, face once again lit with joy, "Why are you out there? We have cake in here!"

She laughed and hurried to his side, "Cake already?"

"Not just cake, _chocolate_ cake." Leo replied, skipping away from the door as she entered. Cuore glanced over her shoulder asking, "Are you coming for cake?"

"Why do you think I came at all?" he shot back sarcastically.

She opened her mouth to retort but then frowned and poked her head back out, seeing something from her shifted vantage point on the balcony a ways off and to the left.

Kieran followed her gaze and let out a sound that was a cross between a sigh and groan. "Is that who I think it is?"

Cuore blinked, "Are they doing what I think they're doing?"

"I don't get it!" Kieran exclaimed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "They fought the _entire_ way here like an old married couple, pretended to be fine when we actually got into the castle, and now they're sucking face."

She glanced at him, "Love is crazy,"

"And _stupid_," he muttered.

They watched for a moment and he suddenly mimicked in a rather good impersonation of Baron's prince; "Oh, I _love_ you!"

Cuore grinned and nudged him, trying to match Ursula's voice to play along. "No, I love _you_ more!"

Kieran rolled his eyes, "And there it is…the _nom nom_…"

"Nom nom?" Cuore questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's that sound they make," he explained, pointing.

She paused to consider what he meant and frowned, "You mean…the smacking lips?"

"No, the one that comes before and after that," he said, looking back at her. "You know, nom nom? Like they're trying to eat each other?"

Cuore dissolved into giggles, "That is…a very good way to describe that sound,"

"You're welcome," he deadpanned, cringing. "I'm going to gag…get a room, you two."

She prodded his arm, "We should leave them be,"

"Are you insane?" Kieran argued, "They're making out in full view of a party where Ursula's parents are very much in attendance. Forget court gossip, Ceodore must have a death wish."

Cuore paused and then nodded, "Good point, we should probably go…break that up…" It was her turn to cringe and Kieran sighed, rolling his eyes. "The things I do for friendship…"

Cuore grinned and followed him through the doorway and back into the main room, skirting the edge of the party to slip into the hallway beyond. She checked to make sure no one was around, nor was anyone paying attention to where they were going.

To their credit it was less occupied then the others, but it was still risky to be in such a compromising situation so close to a crowd.

Kieran didn't even pause before stepping out and coughing loudly while Cuore just hopped out beside him and tried not to laugh.

The result was immediate; Ursula shoved Ceodore away with such enthusiasm that he rammed into the opposite wall with a wince. Ursula went to work trying to straighten her hair and clothing and Ceodore had the grace to look flushed and embarrassed.

Kieran frowned at them and Cuore smirked, "Nice shade of blush, Ursula,"

"Yeah," Kieran agreed, crossing his arms. "What do you call it? Caught in the act?"

Cuore slap her hands over her mouth to avoid laughing while the blonde princess scowled at him, hissing under her breath; "Shut up Kieran!"

She glanced at the prince who shrugged helplessly at her before glancing at their mutual friends.

"You know that there's a party going on right over there," Kieran complained. "Are you two trying to cause a scene?"

They both looked at each other and Ursula muttered under her breath, "It's not like it's the first time we've kissed,"

Ceodore winced and shot her a look that quite clearly told her to shut up.

Cuore held up her hands, "I don't want to know,"

"I second that," Kieran said, looking disgusted. "My only point is, I don't want tonight to turn into a brawl."

"Your parents _are_ here," Ceodore said, looking at her sheepishly. Ursula sighed in annoyance.

There was an awkward sort of pause and Cuore attempted a smile, "Um…there's cake inside!"

The two royalty looked grateful for the excuse and shuffled off the balcony and back inside, sharing one last look before they went opposite ways back to the party.

Kieran rolled his eyes and Cuore giggled, clasping her hands behind her back, "That was…"

"Completely horrific?" he finished, staring after where they had gone.

She tossed him a look, "It's just kissing,"

"It's just _those_ two kissing…" he complained, grimacing.

Cuore laughed again and shook her head, not sure why he was so repulsed about it. She'd assumed the two of them had been doing that already.

Kieran sighed and started to walk off, commenting over his shoulder, "I'm going to go make sure Ceodore's not going to bleed out from the wound to his pride, I'll see you later."

"I'll save you some cake," Cuore promised, flashing him a smile.

She was surprised when he returned the expression, calling back, "I'll hold you too that, blade dancer."

Cuore blinked, surprised by his rather upbeat attitude. It was unlike him to be so happy.

With a shrug, she headed back to her birthday party, smiling as she walked and looking forward to sharing cake with her younger brother and sister.

* * *

**Author's note:**

**Alright, long A/N time!**

**Thanks for the people who read/reviewed the last few chapters :) I'm literally writing this for you, so I'm glad you sticking with it. I owe you guys some conclusions to stories...**

**The cover image is done and uploaded! There's a tone of mistakes on it, and lots of edits to character designs, but I do not care. I also opened up a Deviant Art account under the same username as on here, to showcase some more of my art. The full sized version of that cover image and other fun artwork are posted there. Take a look, if you like.**

**This chapter...turned out to be long, and the "party" part isn't even over. I'm sorry it was solely from Cuore's POV, but...the others will have their time to shine, I promise. More on this celebration to follow next chapter.**

**Seren: A Welsh name that does mean "Star". I thought it would be fun that all three of the Geraldine kids have to do with sun moon and stars (By names and where they came from, I'm clever like that,)**

**Cuore making a crack about "champions are fast on their feet," is because she is, technically, the champion 'round these parts since she beat her father in Lost and Found in the duel at the beginning of that story. For now, anyway...**

**I couldn't resist the "Nom nom" sound effect...forgive me...hehehe**

**PS. I'm mean to my characters.**

**Until next time!**


	4. Treasure

**Ugh...this chapter took way longer then I expected...I could not get motivated to work on it...**

**Anyway, enjoy! More set-up happening here, and finishing/starting some plot points...**

* * *

Ceodore watched somewhat jealously as Kieran devoured a slice of delicious looking chocolate cake as they watched the great gift exchange going on a few feet in front of them.

He frowned, "How did you manage to snag a piece of cake? It was all gone when we came back..."

He finished his sentence internally; "…_From you scolding me_…"

Kieran just slowly licked the last globe of frosting from his fork.

"You're a jerk," Ceodore muttered, shifting in his chair and glaring at his friend.

Kieran grinned and returned his attention to festivities.

The prince sighed and tried to do the same, but his focus was diverted and he felt all the more guilty for it. Kieran had already complained and made him feel remorseful by pointing out that he and Ursula were not only being reckless, but also rude.

They were here to celebrate Cuore and her sibling's birthdays, and he and the princess were making it about them.

His friend had a point, even if that wasn't Ceodore's intension in the least.

Still, he did feel bad, and even more so that he wasn't invested in the gifts being opened, since he was distracted. Ursula was resolutely ignoring him, because she told him it would look bad if they sat next to each other. He didn't really get what she meant, but regardless, he was left to himself.

He needed to talk to Ursula, however, to figure out exactly how to handle the telling of both their families that they were in an actual relationship.

He didn't think it would be a surprise, but on the other hand, it would put them into the spotlight. It was why they spent so long trying to decide on if they were together or not.

It would be so much easier if they weren't royalty.

Ceodore sighed and glanced at Ursula, who was telling Cuore something about one of her gifts.

He shook his head and tried to pay closer attention to what was going on.

He was still annoyed he hadn't gotten any cake, too.

Leo was busy shaking an immaculately wrapped present, obviously trying to figure out what it was. Finally he looked up and waited for a lull in Cuore and Ursula's conversation to speak up; "Sissy, what did you get me?"

She smiled, "Something you'll like,"

Cuore glanced at her parents, "You might be mad at me, but…"

Leo tore into the paper, throwing it into the pile with the other discarded wrappings. Cuore talked as he worked on unraveling the gift.

"I know mom and dad were at a…disagreement on whether or not you were old enough to be allowed a weapon, so I decided to make the choice for them."

Leo pulled out a basic looking metallic circle about the size of his hands put together. He turned it over and over in his hands and Cuore grinned, reaching over and flicking something on the inside of the ring.

There was a slight clinking sound before several metallic arms, obviously spring-loaded, burst along the radius of the disc. The item looked far more familiar now as a multi-bladed boomerang.

"Cool!" Leo said, awed with wide eyes.

Rydia glanced sharply from her son to her daughter and said in warning tone of voice; "Cuore,"

Cuore grinned sheepishly and held up her hands, "No blades! It doesn't even have a sharp edge, he can't possibly hurt himself or anyone else with it."

Rydia stared at her, clearly not completely appeased. Cuore just smiled wider, looking sweetly at her. Leo broke the stalemate by grinning madly and exclaiming, "This is _so_ awesome! It's way cooler then swords…"

He looked embarrassed, glancing between his sister and father. "I mean…only 'cause _everyone_ uses those…"

Cuore chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair, "Happy birthday little brother. I'll show you how to use it. I made it out of a lightweight metal. In a fight it would bend, but when you get older, I'll get you one that would do some damage."

She dropped her voice and added, "And one with blades,"

Leo grinned at her.

"I think it's a great gift," Edge said.

Rydia rolled her eyes, "Of course you do,"

"I'm just saying…boomerangs aren't nearly as dangerous as swords," he countered.

She sighed.

Ceodore felt a little awkward watching them bicker, but he supposed it was how they always acted, so he shouldn't worry. Leo continued to test his new gift, obviously happy with it, and began to show it off to his friends. Even Raj seemed to approve, and that was a rarity.

Seren laid her head on Cuore's knee, "What about _me_?"

Cuore chuckled and picked her little sister up, settling her on her lap and handing her a gift, "I didn't forget about you, little sister. You're not quite old enough for a weapon yet, but I hope you like this."

Seren eagerly tore into her gift, having trouble untying the expertly knotted ribbon on the box. Cuore reached around her and gently tugged on the strands for her until the ribbon unfolded into her lap.

Seren pulled her hands back and let her sister open the lid, pulling out a chain with something glittery at the end of it.

"Oh," Seren cooed, eye's widening, "pretty…"

Cuore chuckled, kissing the side of her sister's head as she undid the clasp of the necklace, "I know how much to love shiny things, little star, so here is a rough diamond crystal. It's a perfect octahedral pyramid shape."

Ceodore made a face, wondering where in the world Cuore even _found_ something like that. How much was that worth? Granted, it was small, but he still blinked in surprise.

Seren beamed at her, "Thanks!"

The little girl squirmed out of her lap and pattered over to Bud, who nodded in approval. His sister Pamela sighed dramatically, "_I_ don't have a diamond necklace!"

Porom rolled her eyes and Bud winced from her loud voice before returning his attention to Seren. The boy brushed his brown bangs out of his eyes to see the necklace better, though the unruly hair just flopped back into place.

Despite their noise, a bigger commotion drew Ceodore's gaze at where apparently Luca and Edge had gotten into an argument.

"I am not giving this to my children," Edge said, slamming the lid back on a wooden box.

Luca glared at him, "And why not? I made it myself,"

"It's creepy, and probably dangerous," he remarked, rising an eyebrow.

She gasped, clearly offended, "Are you saying Calca and Brina are dangerous?"

Rydia and Edge exchanged a glance and the summoner spoke up hesitantly, offering a smile. "Well, Luca, we have gotten into fights with them before,"

The dwarf princess rolled her eyes, "Okay, so yes, there was that one time,"

"Twice," Rydia corrected under her breath.

"But I still don't see what the problem is! It can be programed to be useful and help you out! Or, you can set it up as a guard!" Luca continued.

Cuore looked up from her conversation with Zangestu, "Wait, what are we talking about?"

"Dolls," Edge deadpanned, obviously not thrilled.

Cuore blinked, "Are you referring to the animatronic android models?"

Luca gestured to her, and Edge made a face, "Aka, _dolls_,"

Seren perked up, "I love dolls!"

"Not this one. These are creepy."

She pouted and Leo leaned around his father's arm to sneakily lift the lid. Rydia caught his hand before he got very far and frowned. He grinned sheepishly, "I wanted to see it!"

"Come on! I played with those all the time when I was little, they aren't creepy! Cid likes them well enough to have them help on airships," Luca argued. "Cuore gets it."

Cuore chuckled nervously, "Actually, Luca, I'm sorry to say that dolls disturb me. They are like soulless puppets forever trapped in a time displacement of youth."

Edge gestured to his daughter, "I could not have said it better myself,"

Luca scowled, "Your putting this in the dud gift pile with that frying pan, aren't you?"

Sheila looked offended, "Hey! That's _cast iron_,"

Ursula rolled her eyes at her mom and even Yang mouthed "_Sorry_" to Cuore's parents.

"Don't forget Rosa's hat," Kieran muttered. He'd been remarkably and thankfully quiet the past hour and Ceodore sighed when he spoke up.

Though his comment did earn him a few chuckles and Ursula nearly choking on her water as she took a sip.

Ceodore held up his hands, "I don't know, okay? My mom is into hats lately!"

A few more people deemed it alright to laugh, and Cuore smiled as she picked up the ruffled and feathered hat, turning it over in her hands.

"It is an impressive feat of engineering," she commented.

Kieran nodded, a serious expression on his face, "Yes, impressive because you have to wonder why someone would make something _that_ hideous."

Cuore giggled but Ceodore just nudged his friend, hoping he would shut up. Instead, he leaned forward and commented, mostly to Leo and Seren; "Hey, if we're working on gifts that will make parents hate people, open mine next."

Seren was on her feet instantly while Leo, ever the more cautious sibling, gave him a wary look. "You got us a gift?" he asked suspiciously.

Kieran ignored his obvious dislike and nodded, "I did. It's that crate."

"A wonderful wrapping job," Cuore remarked, rolling her eyes.

Seren was busy hugging it, "Cu, Leo, I can't open it myself,"

Leo sighed and stood, casting one last dirty look at Kieran before trudging over to his sister and prying her away from the crate.

"I know, Seren. You're too little."

"So are you," she pouted, crossing her arms.

Rydia sighed at their bickering but Cuore just stood and waved her down, smiling the whole while as if the children didn't grate on her nerves.

"Both of you stop it," she scolded lightly, shooing them both away from the box. As she went to work trying to open it, Ceodore worriedly eyed the container. It wasn't overly large, not even as tall as Leo, but it was a shipping crate and he had a feeling that something bad would be inside.

"Um…what did you get them again?" he asked at a whisper.

Kieran grinned at him, but said nothing.

Ceodore sighed, "Should I not sit here? You know, in case a spell or dagger is thrown at your head?"

His friend shrugged and stood, "I'm using Cuore as a shield,"

Louder, he addressed the Geraldine children and picked his way carefully around the piles of discarded wrappings and other gifts. "How many people does it take to open this?"

Cuore tossed him a look over her shoulder, hands prying at the seams of the wooden box. He knelt beside her and batted her hands away, "Have anything useful in that _brilliant_ head of yours?"

"Yes, the names of some Eidolons. Care to meet them?" she snapped back.

Ceodore sighed, shaking his head slightly. He had noticed that Cuore and Kieren's friendship was stable, or at least better than it had been in the past. However, there were moments when they slipped back into quarrels that made it all seem worthless.

He always wished it was mere teasing instead of hostile bickering.

"Been there, done that, blade dancer." Kieran muttered, shifting one of the wooden rails and sliding it across to unlatch it. Cuore watched the mechanism with interest, though she was still quick to retort one last comment.

"Being on the _opposite_ side of the Eidolons is nothing like having them as allies,"

Her tone held a hint of warning, and Ceodore winced, surprised that Kieran just ignored the comment completely and finished opening the crate.

Seren invaded his personal space, leaning against him to see inside while Leo instead went the opposite way and glanced over his sister's shoulder.

"What is it?" Seren asked, squinting into the darkness.

Cuore shrugged, "I'm uncertain,"

Ceodore couldn't see from his vantage point and glanced at Ursula, who was closer. She just shrugged back at him, quickly becoming tangled in the conversation to her right between her parents and Porom.

Kieran looked at Cuore in mock surprise, "You don't know? I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that,"

She frowned lightly at him and Leo glared, "We _all_ don't know who invited you,"

Kieran blinked and Cuore glanced at her brother in amazement. "Leo," she scolded.

The boy averted his gaze sullenly, looking chastised but hardly remorseful. Seren bounced on her toes, "No one is answering me! What _is it_?"

Cuore raised a hand to her lips, obviously trying not to laugh even as Kieran flashed the little girl a grin, "Sorry Seren. It's something I think Leo has wanted for a while."

Leo was still sulking, but did look up at his name being mentioned as Kieran finished out his thought.

"It's a chocobo egg,"

Leo's eyes widened and he pushed his way past his kneeling sister to get a better look even as she blinked in surprise.

"A chocobo egg?" Rydia commented, making a face.

Ceodore held up a hand, "Wait, wait, where did you get that?"

Kieran looked over his shoulder at him, "Remember that…mishap with the wild chocobo and our stables?"

"_Oh_," the prince said, "that…"

The chocobo stables had been in need of repairs for a while, but the final straw came when one of the recent and unexpected storms had blown through and took out a few walls. The result was a lot of their carefully bred chocobo stock escaping into the wild. Almost all of them had been recovered, mostly because they didn't get very far, but those that were returned and female had bought some surprises with them.

Ceodore still wasn't sure how that had happened when technically breeding season hadn't even started yet, but he didn't pay that much attention to the situation. He knew they'd been trying to find homes for the eggs before they hatched, but other than that he wasn't in the loop.

"And we're going to keep this chocobo that's hatching from this egg where, exactly?" Edge commented to no one in particular.

Cuore glanced at Kieran, "My parents are going to murder you,"

"I figured,"

She shook her head even as Leo turned to them and exclaimed in a surprisingly whiney voice; "Please can I keep it! I've wanted a pet forever! I promise to take care of it,"

Pamela spoke up from the sidelines, "I have a pet!"

He glared at her.

Seren looked puzzled, "What's a…chocobird?"

"Chocobo," Leo corrected, "and it's this awesome giant bird that you can ride, and they're super loyal, and they're really smart, and…please can I keep it?"

He directed the last part at his parents, who exchanged a glance.

Kieran held up his hands in defense, "I'm not so mean I'd just give this to you and run off. Basically we need someone to _hatch_ this egg, not board the actual bird. Leo can name it, and take care of it, and once it's old enough to run, we can take it back and house it. It's still yours, but you don't have to worry about it all the time. We just lack the space right now to have so many…eggs."

Cuore looked confused, "People do that?"

"All the time," Ceodore commented, shrugging. "A lot in Troia, especially. Chocobo boarding is a huge business."

Leo nudged Seren and she perked up, "Yeah! Can we keep it!"

Obviously she was being coerced into begging as well, and Edge looked at Rydia with an expression that was asking for a reason to say no.

Rydia held up her hands, looking fairly amused, "Don't look at me. You're the one who doesn't like them,"

"I don't not like them," he argued, "We just…don't have them here. Besides, really, a giant bird?" He sighed and relented, "Fine, I guess we can keep it until it's…grown."

Leo beamed, "Thanks!" He turned to his friends, "_I_ have a chocobo,"

"I already told you, I have a pet!" Pamela whined.

They all ignored her.

Ursula frowned, "I want one,"

"Done," Kieran said, glancing at her, "We have more of these things then we know what to do with,"

Ceodore was glad that hadn't turned into more of a disaster, though he figured that someone back in Baron must had cleared all of this for them to be able to ship the egg. Leo was certainly pleased, and by default, Seren was too.

Cuore tapped Kieran's arm to draw his attention and muttered something under her breath that Ceodore couldn't hear, though he assumed it was more comments about how ticked her parents would be.

The prince sighed, still concerned but trying to let it go. If anything, Kieran would have to deal with the consequences, not him. He did note, however, that Leo had yet to acknowledge the giver of the gift. He was still bragging to his friends, instead.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and shifted to see better, noticing that Cuore had moved from her earlier spot and was instead perched on the arm of her mother's chair. They were discussing something in hushed tones.

Curious, Ceodore strained to hear over the rest of the room that had largely dissolved into the party atmosphere again.

"But, you already got me several gifts," Cuore remarked, looking at her mother skeptically.

Her father waved off the comment and thrust another box towards her, "And your point is what? We've been spoiling you rotten your whole life, why stop now?"

"Well, _you've_ been spoiling her," Rydia muttered.

Edge gave her a dubious look, "Says the woman who had a gown specially made by the _Eidolons_ for her daughter,"

"Do you want to talk about that katana for her sixteenth birthday?"

"You gave her one too, besides, what about that first edition magical history book last year?"

Cuore giggled at her parents, resting her free hand on their arms one at a time to stall the bickering. "Can I open it now, or will it cause further conflict?"

Rydia smiled at her, "It's a joint gift, so open it now, please. Daddy's little girl gets everything she wants,"

"Mommy's favorite," Edge countered.

Cuore rolled her eyes, "I hope Leo and Seren don't take you too seriously. They may feel slighted,"

"They just got a pet chocobo that someone else is going to take care of for them most of the year. I think they'll live," Edge replied, frowning at the crate Leo was protectively sitting next too.

Ceodore felt badly eavesdropping and so returned his attention to the rest of the festivities. He felt a bit jealous of how easily Cuore interacted with her family. It wasn't as if his relationship with his parents was _bad_, it just wasn't ideal.

He sighed.

Ursula suddenly plopped down next to him and slung an arm around his shoulders. He gave her a cautious look.

"I thought…we weren't sitting next to each other," he said hesitantly, worried she might take offense.

The princess shrugged, obviously carefree, "Don't worry so much. You're over here looking…like Kieran, actually. Everything okay?"

He had to grin at her phrasing and he shrugged as best her could under the weight of her arm. "Yeah, I guess. I was just thinking."

"Well stop that, it's obviously hurting you," Ursula teased. She flashed him one of her charismatic smiles, "Don't worry, whatever is on your mind, we'll make you forget tomorrow. We'll have so much fun with Cuore."

Ceodore nodded towards Kieran, who was sitting next to Raj, both of them looking bored. "Think you can make Kieran have fun?"

Ursula rolled her eyes, "He's a lost cause."

Ceodore chuckled and glanced at her, which was a bad idea since they were so close and she was relaxed and still smiling. He really liked her smile.

She gave him a weird look, "Are you seriously zoning out on me right now?"

He winced and gave himself a mental slap to the face. "Sorry, I'm tired." It was a half-lie, since he was feeling a little sleepy this late into the evening. With all the factors coming into play, he was finding it difficult not to just collapse against Ursula completely since she was still using his shoulders as an armrest.

He sincerely wondered if she realized what kind of hell she put him through.

Ursula sighed at him, "I guess it is pretty late." Her gaze shifted to Cuore, who was busy embracing both her parents in what appeared to be a heartfelt scene.

The princess's brow furrowed, "Huh, I wonder what made her so happy…"

They both looked over as Luca's gift doll sat up and started looking around. Leo cringed, "Ugh, it is creepy,"

Seren giggled, "I like it!"

Ursula snickered, and Ceodore couldn't help but join in.

* * *

Cuore shifted Seren in her arms to a more comfortable position as she climbed the winding staircase to her room.

"Cu?" the little girl muttered sleepily.

Cuore smiled and whispered back, "Yes, little sister?"

"…I'm not tired, do I have to sleep?"

The teal haired young woman wanted to laugh at the statement. The girl's voice was slurred with sleep and hardly understandable. It was hours past her normal bedtime, and she was crashing from the increased amount of sugar she had previously ingested that evening.

Obviously she was tired but didn't want to go to sleep. Two different things entirely.

Cuore used her foot to ease Seren's door open, speaking in hushed tones as she moved into the room. "Seren, are you sure you aren't sleepy? _I'm_ tired,"

The little girl tightened her arms around Cuore's neck, "Then…can you stay in here with me?"

Cuore frowned, slightly puzzled. Personally she had always hated and rebelled against sleep, but it was a needed activity for humans, and by extension, her as well. It gave the fragile body time to repair and restore, and it helped pass the time as well.

Leo had never complained about sleeping or attempted to stall it. He had also never seemed…afraid.

Cuore carefully balanced her sister with one arm and used her other hand to ready the bed, all the while speaking. "Seren, why would I stay in here? I have my own room."

"I know," the little girl mumbled into her neck, clinging to her, "But I don't like being alone."

Cuore gently laid Seren down and sat on the edge of the bed so they could talk. "You don't? Why not?"

The little girl was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and she clutched at the blankets. "It's scary," she whined. "You and Leo and mom and dad are so far away…"

Cuore smiled at her, "Seren, we aren't that far. It is exactly fi-"

Her sister cut her off before she gave an accurate count of the steps to reach each location. "It _feels_ far,"

Reaching down, Cuore adjusted the chain around her sister's neck, "Seren, we are never far from you, I promise. This necklace I gave you will keep you safe, you know that, right?"

The girl nodded, starting to nod off.

"I will never let anything hurt you, little star," she whispered, kissing her sister's forehead. "Now, go to sleep."

"Okay…" Seren mumbled, rolling over and hugging the copious amounts of pillows scattered on her bed.

Cuore spent a moment stroking her sister's hair until she was certain the child was truly asleep. Standing, she only paused to draw the drapes closed all the way, musing that she would have to tell her parents about the strange fear of being alone Seren had mentioned.

Cuore softly exited the room, shutting the door behind her and descending the steps. She needed to speak with her parents anyway. Their final gift to her bothered her, but she didn't want to bring up why at the party. It was a personal and rather serious topic, something that would have ruined the joyous occasion.

At the bottom of the steps, Leo was waiting, looking ready to pass out on his feet. Still he grinned at her and asked; "Is Seren asleep?"

Always looking out for his younger sibling, Cuore smiled and nodded, "She is. It's about time you were in bed, too."

He nodded, rubbing one eye, "Yeah…"

She reached out and ruffled his hair, "Thank you for my gift,"

He smiled up at her, "Sure. You've used up the last set of empty books mom gave you, I figured you could use more."

She nodded, "Yes,"

He seemed to hesitate and then suddenly stepped forward and hugged her. She noted he was taller than the last time he'd hugged her. Chances were he'd grow up to be taller than she was, but it was still odd to note the physical differences as they occurred. She bit back a sigh at how quickly time went.

"I love you, sissy."

Cuore closed her eyes and rested one hand on the back of his head and let the other wrap around his shoulders, "I love you too, little brother."

He looked up at her, "Are you…staying for a while? I feel like I haven't seen you…"

She felt a flash of guilt and nodded quickly, "Yes, I'm home."

Leo grinned and released her, voice becoming heavy with sleep, "Good."

He yawned and turned to walk down the hallway, waving as he went, "Goodnight Cuore,"

"Goodnight Leo," she called quietly.

With a sigh, Cuore leaned back against the nearest wall. She was restless lately, but being home calmed her nerves. Besides, she missed her family more then she realized, and they had obviously missed her as well.

The tower could wait a few weeks for the upgrades.

Cuore pushed off the wall and slowly made her way down the hallway, wispy gown trailing along the floor as she walked. She would see if her parents were still awake so she could talk to them now, rather than wait until tomorrow.

Besides, tomorrow she suspected she would be preoccupied. Ursula had promised, or rather threatened, something of the sort.

* * *

Cuore paused outside her parent's door and pressed her ear close, trying to discern if they were still awake before she knocked. She wasn't expecting the door to open spontaneously, revealing Edge who flashed her a smile.

She frowned, "How did you know I was out here?"

"I heard you," he replied.

"Impossible."

"Are you calling me a liar?" he asked, grinning at her.

Cuore paused, not sure how she wanted to answer that question, but was nevertheless rescued by her mother who pulled her inside, tossing an eye roll at her husband.

"Ignore him, come here," Rydia said, dragging her to sit in the nearest chair. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I didn't want to bother you," Cuore said, feeling guilty. "I wasn't sure if you would still be awake. If it's a bad time, I can come back…"

Rydia rolled her eyes and gave her a daughter's hand a squeeze, "It's never a bad time for you, Cuore." She glanced at Edge, "Besides, he's too wired to go to sleep anyway,"

"Hey!" Edge complained, closing the door and frowning at her, "You're the one who hasn't even taken her dress off yet,"

"Why are you always obsessed with me taking my clothes off?" Rydia asked, sounding irritated.

"…Is this…a trick question?"

Cuore had her head buried in a hand and sighed loudly to draw their attention; "Mom, dad, I'm _sitting right here_. I can seriously come back another time if you two have _other plans_."

Her mother had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed but her father gave her a funny look, "Get your head out of the gutter, Cuore."

She pinned him with a look, and he winced, commenting, "You really look like Rydia when you make that face. It's scary."

Cuore shrugged, "Ninety-seven percent genetic match, remember? It's bound to happen."

Rydia tipped her head to one side and gestured to the box Cuore was holding, getting them all back on topic. "What did you come here to talk about?"

Cuore lowered her gaze, attempting to phrase her words in her head before speaking them aloud. She didn't want to sound ungrateful, or harsh, but she wanted to make a point all the same.

"It's about…" she began, sighing. "What you gave me, at the party."

Rydia frowned, "What about it?"

"I…can't accept it," she said quietly, opening the box and holding out the item to her mother. "It doesn't feel right."

"Why?" the other woman asked, sounding upset.

She refused to take the item, though her gaze rested on it. The object was a circlet of woven and twist metal, delicate, and centered with an amber colored gemstone. Attached to the side of the tiara was a cluster of dark red jewels, one that would rest right above the ear, with a few dangling chains hanging below.

Cuore closed her eyes, worried if she didn't she wouldn't be able to speak clearly. "I know what this is, and I don't deserve it."

Rydia opened her mouth to disagree, but Cuore plowed on, shaking her head, "Mom, this is yours. You saved the world in this and I _know_ what it is."

"Yes," the summoner replied, tone firm. "It's a symbol of a High Summoner. You have every right to own it,"

"No I don't," she insisted, fingers tightening around the coiled headband. "What would the people of Mist say? They would be furious with you passing along such a treasured and honored symbol to someone they don't recognize as a summoner."

"_They_ didn't give it to me," he mother said, waving off the objection. "King Leviathan and Queen Asura gave it to me, and they fully accept you as a High Summoner. By all rights, you should have your own, but I thought it might be nice to pass mine on."

Cuore bit her lip, and shot a quick glance at her father, who had been surprisingly quiet. "I know what _these_ are, too."

She pointed to the added jewels on the side, "What would people say if they knew I was wearing part of the crown jewels? Me, who isn't even _real_."

Rydia frowned at him, "Remember when you gave me those and _didn't_ tell me what they were?"

"Well, you never would have taken the gift if you'd known!" Edge argued, shrugging. "It was hard enough to convince you to take them without you knowing and it was even your birthday…"

She rolled her eyes and Cuore sighed sadly, closing her eyes again.

"I appreciate the sentiment behind this gift, and I am honored you would think to give me these, but…I don't deserve them. I shouldn't have them. If anyone should have them, it's Leo."

"You think your brother's going to wear that?" Edge said sarcastically, gesturing to the tiara.

Cuore rolled her eyes, "I do not mean the actual item, but the power and status they represent."

Her mother reached out and covered the hand still holding the circlet when both of hers, touch light and comforting. "Cuore, we gave you this because we wanted you to have it. If you don't want to accept it, then don't, but if your only reason to say no is because you think that you aren't worthy, then I won't take it back."

"Neither will I," Edge seconded, finally sitting in one of the other empty chairs. "You're always so hard on yourself. You shouldn't let what other people think about you affect what you think about yourself. We raised you better than that."

She grinned, and Rydia chuckled, adding; "I saved the world with that tiara, so it should at least have some good luck attached to it, if nothing else."

"I only worry that…" Cuore trailed off, averting her gaze, "that I have made too many mistakes. That I have destroyed bonds I can never repair. I would hate to bring any stress on you by accepting this gift."

"You're stressing us out more by _not_ accepting it," her father countered.

Cuore stared at the crown in her lap, feeling mixed emotions. She didn't feel worthy enough to have something this important or treasured, not after burning so many bridges in the world. She had done nothing to earn it, nothing to merit such a gift.

"Thank you." she mumbled.

Rydia leaned over and kissed the side of her head, "Your welcome, by small lady."

"No," Cuore said, looking up and offering her a small smile. "Thank you. For everything. I've never said that before. I've never acknowledged what you did for me. What you risked."

Her mother blinked, and Cuore wasn't sure she fully grasped what she meant, so she continued. "You didn't have to bring me back from the true moon. You didn't have to take that chance on me, on someone that by all rights was your enemy. I owe you more than I can ever repay, and I've never said thank you. Thank you for saving me, for taking care of me, for believing in me."

She shifted her gaze to her father and smiled again, "Thank you for accepting me so easily, for treating me so much better than I ever deserved."

She laughed slightly, humorlessly, "I am ungrateful, aren't I? To never have said thank you? Thank you for loving me when I didn't even know what that was…"

Rydia grasped her into a tight embrace, clinging to her side. Cuore felt a few teardrops splash on her shoulders and cheek, and she heard the teary waver in her mother's voice as she spoke. "Cuore, you don't need to thank us. You could never know how much I love you, how proud I am of you…You aren't ungrateful, my small lady,"

She giggled when she was pulled the opposite way into a similar hug by her father, who sounded more exasperated then touched. "Cuore, you don't owe us anything. That isn't why we took care of you, and it isn't why we love you. You've been such a joy, and no matter what anyone says, you are my daughter."

Rydia tapped the crown Cuore was still holding, "That's why we gave you this. You don't realize how amazing you are, how special, how important. To us, and to the world."

Cuore smiled, nodding, "Alright, thank you."

Rydia brushed at her eyes and Edge sighed, "Great, you made your mom cry,"

Cuore gave him a shove, "Like you've never done that,"

She glanced between them and smiled slightly, "I…have missed you."

"And we missed you," Rydia agreed, squeezing her arm. "Are you staying a few days before you…disappear again?"

"I know you want to make the tower safe," Edge commented, "but I feel like we hardly see you anymore."

She nodded, "I know, that's why…I'm taking a break. The tower can wait. It's not going anywhere, after all."

"I wish," Edge said, rolling his eyes.

Cuore grinned, "Maybe I'll install a cloaking device, to block it from view."

He eyed her, "Could you…do that?"

"It's the same principles as a Blink spell, only more sustained, requiring a power source of a variable-"

Edge made a show of groaning loudly in a bored tone which cut off Cuore's tirade. Rydia gave her an apologetic smile, "My dear, it's too late at night for such talk,"

Cuore frowned, though she wasn't all that upset, and nodded, "I suppose. However, this requires further research…"

"Great, I'm not helping with that," her father said cheerful, hopping to his feet. "But have fun,"

Cuore chuckled and likewise stood, "I will, but not tonight." She shuffled to the door and turned back, smiling at them one last time.

"Thank you again, for everything. For my life, for tonight, for…this gift." She held up the tiara. "I love you,"

They bid her goodnight, and for the first time in weeks, Cuore didn't have the nagging feeling that something, somewhere in the world, wasn't right.

* * *

**Author's Note: Be proud of me. I wrote from Ceodore's POV and wrote about him, too. Whew...**

**Yes, Cuore still has some lingering issues after all this time, she's still trying to work through them. It may seem that she is being whiney and melodramatic, (and she sort of is, but she's a teenage girl, so...) but the kind of issues she has are pretty serious. **

**I had a few people mention that they were sad there was less of Rydia and Edge in these stories. Thus, here you go.**

**Also, for any crazy stuff happening in this story that lacks sense-making, now and coming up, I cite that I have been, or had been when in the planning stages, watching/playing too much; Transformers: Prime, Metroid, Star Trek, Power Rangers and DC comic based cartoons...**

**And for reference since I suspect someone will want to know...character ages and timeline as of this story:**

**Cuore is 18, Kieran is 20, Ceodore and Ursula are 23-24ish (I don't know...based on the retcon of their ages...somewhere in there,) Leo is 8 and Seren is 2. It's been almost two years since My Brother's Keeper chronologically in this timeline. **

**Obviously, this story is not canon. I am aware of this. It's hard to be when it's been eight years since TAY at this point.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! See you next chapter,**


	5. Music

Whoever was knocking on the door was louder than any airship that had ever woken Kieran up. He rolled over and glared at the door, intent on ignoring the sound.

To his dismay, it only got louder, if possible, with no signs of stopping.

He groaned and glanced at Ceodore, who was still asleep.

He glared at him for a moment, wondering how in the world the other man could sleep through this racket, before he finally sighed and practically rolled out of bed onto the floor.

Kieran had no idea what time it was, but his internal clock was skewed by the foreign time zone, and he was already exhausted from the late night. Parties just weren't his thing.

Growing more annoyed by the second by whoever was pounding on their door, he growled under his breath and paused only to grab his gloves off the bedside table and put them on before stumbling to the door.

He yanked it open and glared, "_What_?"

Ursula frowned at him, hand poised to continue knocking, "Crystals! Are you two still in bed?"

"This, from you. What, did your mom bash you over the head with a tea kettle this morning?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

She rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you're this sarcastic when first awake,"

"Believe it," he muttered, leaning against the doorframe tiredly, "Seriously, Ursula, what do you want?"

She crossed her arms, "I can't find Cuore,"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Kieran asked, squinting at her.

She ignored him. "I bet we missed breakfast already, since it's so late. We need to get going. We're leaving tomorrow already! There's so much I want to do and see before we leave."

He gestured haphazardly into the room, "Good luck, Ceodore's still out."

Ursula heaved a sigh and shoved her way passed him, stomping into the room. Kieran blinked and then tossed up his hands in defeat, "Please, come in…"

"Ceodore!" Ursula said, giving him a good whack on his shoulder. "Wake up!"

"No," he whined, rolling away from her. "It's too early,"

"It's past noon,"

"Not where I come from," he mumbled into his pillow. She huffed and sat down on the bed to shake him some more. "Ceodore Clarence Harvey, wake up!"

Kieran looked over, now wide awake, "Wait, wait, your middle name is _Clarence_?"

He snickered even as Ceodore wordlessly grabbed one of his pillows and chucked at him. Kieran sidestepped it and shook his head, filing the embarrassing name away for future torment.

Ursula poked him hard between the ribs, making him flinch away from her, even as she continued to beg him to get up.

Ceodore groaned and pulled the blankets over his head, "No…"

Kieran rolled his eyes, turning away from them and pulling the drapes open to let all the afternoon light spill in through the windows. Even Ursula blinked at the light as Ceodore sat up and glared at him, "I hate you,"

"Good morning!" Kieran said cheerfully, tossing him his pillow back. "Ursula is bossy as hell, but she's right about one thing; we're only here today, we might as well make the most of it."

The princess nodded smartly, pinning Ceodore with a look. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, I know…"

"Are you hung over?" Kieran asked, leaning against the window.

The prince blinked, "What? No…I didn't even drink anything last night…"

"And Cid wasn't there to spike the punch," Ursula added, chuckling.

Ceodore sighed, "I'm just tired. This whole time zone difference is really strange…I'm not sure how people travel back and forth so easily all the time."

Ursula grasped his arm, "Come _on_, already! I have no idea where Cuore got off too, but there's no way she's going to spend time with her other friends and not us. Plus, I'm starving…"

Ceodore weakly protested, tugging on his arm uselessly.

Kieran sighed, rolled his eyes again and decided to move this along before they wasted any more of his time and patience.

"Ursula," he commented, drawing the princess's gaze. "Could you leave for a few minutes? I mean, I'm sure you and Ceodore would love to have more pillow time together, but I need to get dressed, and honestly, that's just weird with you in here."

The look on her face was so surprised that he had to try very hard not to start laughing, even as the initial shock faded into pure rage. She grabbed the pillow again and threw it at him with far more accuracy and force then the sleepy prince had a few moments before.

Kieran winced, still amused, as she stood and stormed to the door, commenting, "I'm finding Cuore. I need more female friends, clearly."

When she slammed the door closed, one of the masks fell off the table they had placed them on and clattered to the floor. Kieran glanced at Ceodore, who was glaring at him with a mixture of annoyance and mortification.

He shrugged, "What? It got her to leave."

The prince nodded slightly, as if conceding the point and he grinned, adding; "Clarence."

"Start calling me that and I swear, I will murder you in your sleep, Kieran."

* * *

Thankfully, Ursula had calmed down by the time they met back up with her. She had waited for them near the end of the long hallway and luckily Tsukinowa was waiting with her. He flashed them a brilliant smile.

"I am here to escort you to the terrace for brunch," he declared, bowing with an over the top flourish.

Ceodore blinked, "You guys have a terrace?"

The boy shrugged, "Well, it's really just the big balcony, but…I think terrace sounds fancier…"

Ursula shrugged, "Whatever, so long as there's food, I'm there."

"Cuore thought you might be hungry," Tsukinowa said, leading them onward. "She's been out there most of the morning with some of her other friends."

Ceodore was surprised by the jealous expression on Ursula's face, "Who?"

"Oh, her friend from Mist and that guy from Damcyan, mostly. She's also spending time with Leo and his friends, who are keeping an eye on Seren and Bud." Tsukinowa mentioned.

Kieran frowned, "Her friend from Mist that told her they couldn't be friends anymore when she was little? Yeah, great friend…"

"Well, at least Sarah never called her a soulless imitation," the boy said nonchalantly.

Ceodore winced, even as Ursula whistled, "Oh, snap…"

Kieran sighed, obviously annoyed. The blonde princess spared him an apologetic look, "You sort of deserved that one,"

"Whatever."

Ceodore, hoping to bring the conversation around to something more pleasant, commented, "You know, speaking of terms that are fancier,"

Kieran snorted, "Nice transition,"

They ignored him.

"My mom calls this one section near the rose garden a _veranda_." Ceodore finished, making a face. "I think it just looks like a covered walkway…"

"Oh," Tsukinowa said, fumbling with a lever on the wall that was well above his head. "A veranda…that does sound fancy. We should get one of those…"

"Can you reach that okay?" Ursula asked, "Seems a little high,"

He glared over his shoulder, "I know, I'm _short_!"

She held up her hands, "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Ugh," Tsukinowa said, leading them through the newly opened wall. "You probably have no idea how old am I either because I'm short!"

"How old _are_ you?" Ceodore asked.

The boy sighed, "Older then _you_,"

He continued to mutter under his breath and Ursula winced, "I really didn't mean to be rude,"

"Not everyone can be tall," Kieran commented. "Just look at Ceodore."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Would you stop harassing me?"

"But it's fun," Ursula said, grinning at him. "And you _are_ short,"

"Both my parents are short, what do you want from me?" he griped. "I can't fight genetics,"

Ursula snickered, "Yeah, that's' why you weigh less than me,"

"No, that's because he has no muscle," Kieran countered.

Ceodore glared at both of them, "Stop it!"

Ursula chuckled, "Lighten up, I'm just teasing you," She gently punched him in the shoulder, "I think your fine just the way you are. You're the perfect height to hold me."

She surprised him by curling into his side.

Kieran made a gagging sound behind them, ruining the moment. Ceodore frowned at him, "I think I liked you better when you were always quiet and brooding."

"I'm still quiet and brooding," Kieran said, shrugging. "Your just mad because I'm taller then you and my middle name isn't Clarence."

Ursula chuckled.

They're bickering had lasted until they stepped out onto the _terrace_, and Tsukinowa had promptly wandered off to stand closer, though not actually talk too, Porom.

Ursula was off in a second, tackling Cuore from behind where she was sitting with her friend from Mist. The other girl looked surprised and Cuore smiled slightly, commenting; "Ah, Ursula. I wondered where you were,"

"Dragging the boys out of their beauty sleep," the princess huffed, releasing her friend in favor of sitting next to her. "I need to spend time with you, though,"

Cuore nodded and looked up to wave.

Ceodore waved back but was distracted by Pamela latching herself onto him. He sighed and glanced at Kieran for help.

He was surprised when he actually assisted. "Hey Pam,"

She pursed her lips at him, "Hi."

It was a cold greeting at best. Apparently saving the world together did nothing to form bonds with the child. Instead, Kieran just rolled his eyes and wandered over to Porom, quickly getting her involved in the situation.

It took a few minutes, but finally the pigtailed girl was running back to play with Leo and his friends, who all looked disappointed with her return. Ceodore felt a little badly.

"I swear, she only listens to Porom," Ceodore commented quietly.

Kieran shrugged, "She respects her aunt, hence why she listens to her. Everyone else is just chopped liver."

Ceodore paused, mulling over his words before he glanced up, "…Is that why you break so many rules and never listen to anyone? You don't respect them?"

Kieran just wandered away, leaving the prince to frown and finally join Ursula and Cuore.

He felt a little bad entering the conversation so late, but he found that Ursula had gotten over being jealous of Cuore's friend and was busy chatting.

Sarah was listening with rapt attention, and Ceodore wondered exactly what they were discussing, drawing closer. He noticed Cuore's dubious expression at the retelling and paused beside her to hear the rest of Ursula's story.

"And then," she said, pausing for dramatic effect, "she leaped into the air and drove her sword straight into the machine's eye,"

Cuore raised an eyebrow and interrupted the story. "I don't believe that is how it occurred,"

The princess waved a hand to dismiss her comment while Sarah just blinked, starry-eyed. "Wow…" the brown haired girl muttered. "Cuore, did you really beat Zeromus single handedly?"

Curoe averted her gaze, "Not quite, it was…far more complex than that. I had the assistance of my friends, and my Eidolons. It was our combined efforts that saved the world."

Ursula smirked, "Stop being modest, it was all you,"

Sarah suddenly looked somber and stared at a point in front of her. Her fingertips gently touched her throat in a gesture that seemed unconscious. "To sacrifice yourself, to be that brave…you truly did deserve the title of High Summoner…"

Cuore shifted in her chair, looking uncomfortable, "I suppose."

"No, you did,"

Ceodore glanced over his shoulder at the other voice, surprised that Kieran of all people was agreeing with the statement.

Apparently so was everyone else because all eyes turned to him and Ursula made a face, clearly baffled. Cuore just blinked and smiled lightly, though this time she didn't argue.

Kieran passed a muffin to Cuore and tossed some sort of fruit to Ursula, who caught in surprise.

Cuore turned the item over in her hands and Kieran rolled his eyes, "There's no nuts or seeds in that. I know you have texture issues,"

"Only in baked goods," Cuore complained.

He shrugged and nodded to Sarah, "Sorry, I don't know what you like, and you," he turned to Ceodore, "Are already standing."

Ceodore frowned, "Thanks…"

Ursula was giving him an odd look and finally spoke up, "What's with you? You're acting like a human being today."

"I've got to keep you on your toes," he commented, leaning his elbows on the back of Cuore's chair, watching as she continued to poke at the muffin. He sighed, "Cuore, seriously, I promise you there is nothing bad in there,"

She tilted her head to see him, grinning, "I simply don't trust you,"

"Thanks,"

"Oh!" Cuore said suddenly, smiling at Sarah, "I'm sorry. This is my friend Sarah, from Mist. Sarah, this is Ceodore and Kieran and you've already met Ursula though I don't think she introduced herself with a name before launching into completely unrealistic tales,"

"Hey!" the blonde princess said, grinning. "That's so unfair. I just thought your friend might want to know how amazing you were,"

Sarah giggled, one hand nervously playing with the skirt she was wearing. "That, I already know,"

Their interaction was cut off by the sound of music drifting from the other side of the balcony, and they turned to watch Rolf play something for Leo and his friends. Cuore rested her chin on her hand, mentioning, "Also, just for reference, Leo's friends are Rainbow, Raj and Felix."

"Raj we met," Ceodore said, "he came with Ursula here."

Kieran looked around, "Is it just me, or are we missing a few people?"

Sarah followed his gaze and let her eyes dart around the area, shaking her head slowly, "I…don't know?"

"Adults," Ceodore chimed in, frowning. "As in, all of them. Seriously, they left us with only Porom, Leonora and Tsukinowa…where's everyone else?"

Cuore chuckled, "Having fun of their own, no doubt."

Ursula snorted, taking a bite of her food, "No doubt. I hope they don't get into too much trouble,"

"Like making out on balconies?" Kieran asked, feigning innocence. Ceodore glared at him, not amused.

Cuore stifled a giggle, leaving Sarah to look confused though she said nothing.

There was a pattering of footsteps that broke the awkward moment, and Leo ran up, looking annoyed.

"Cuore," he said shortly, "would you _please_ tell Seren that she isn't better at magic then me?"

"I am too!" the little girl piped, running after him and frantically trying to keep up. He flicked a glare at her before turning back to his sister with a look of desperation. Seren hugged his arm once she was at his side.

He pulled it out of her reach. She grabbed the other one. He sighed in surrender.

"I'm glad I'm an only child," Ursula mumbled. Ceodore shrugged, leaning down to talk as too not let the two siblings hear. "Come on, didn't you ever want siblings?"

"Why? So I would've had to share everything with them?" she asked, sounding put out.

He frowned, disagreeing. He'd always wanted a little sibling, and in a lot of ways, he sort of saw Cuore as a sister, even if she was often more mature then he was.

Leo and Seren continued their bickering.

"Your magic is not better!"

"Is too! It's more betterer!"

"Ugh, Seren, you cast _one_ spell, and it covered the wall in your room with soot,"

She flashed him a grin and threw up her hands, exclaiming; "Boom!"

He rolled his eyes.

Cuore stifled another laugh and put on her most impressive firm, older sister mask for the time being. "Leo, Seren," she said, drawing their attention. "Your magic isn't better or worse than each other. It's not a competition,"

"Tell _her_ that," Leo whined, pointing at Seren.

She giggled and hugged him, "I love you, Leo."

Cuore let a smile slip, "I'm serious, you two. It's unfair to weigh your magic against one another when it is so different. That's what I meant when I said it isn't better or worse; it's _different_."

She flicked Seren's nose, "You, little star, could use more of control with your magic. No matter how powerful it is, it might just blow up in your face if you aren't careful." Cuore threw her hands open; "Boom!"

Seren jumped a little and giggled, ducking behind Leo.

Cuore glanced at her brother and grinned, "Leo, you know full well you could be better if you _practiced_,"

He sighed and averted his gaze, so she set a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe if you teach Seren more restraint, like you have, she can teach you a little more flair."

Seren poked her head around and smiled up at him, "I want to be just like _you_,"

Leo rolled his eyes, "Fine,"

She ran off, apparently appeased, and Leo watched her go, an affectionate frown on his face. Clearly she drove him nuts but he still loved her.

He turned to Cuore, "Thanks, Pamela egged her into that one."

"You can't blame everything on Pamela," his sister scolded lightly.

Leo flashed a grin that matched Seren's a few moment's ago, "I can if it's her fault,"

Cuore rolled her eyes and Ursula and Kieran both snickered. Ceodore shook his head lightly, having fun simply watching Cuore, who everyone always said wasn't human, interact with her siblings. She clearly loved them dearly and didn't realize how she influenced their lives so drastically.

They adored her, and it made Ceodore wonder if all younger siblings automatically admired their older brothers and sisters. It made him feel a little bad he'd never asked Kieran much about his family.

He hadn't wanted to bring up bad memories, no matter how curious he was about them.

He was distracted from his musings by Cuore, who touched her brother's shoulder again to gain his attention, eyes fixated on his jacket. "Leo, what is that?"

He looked down at the pin and smiled, "Oh, that! It was a gift from Titania."

Cuore frowned, raising her eyes to meet his, "When?"

"Last night," he replied, shrugging.

She sighed, "I didn't see any children besides your friends,"

Leo shook his head, "Nah, she visited after the party, right before I went to sleep."

Cuore stared at him, expression halfway disbelieving, halfway wary. Ceodore wasn't really sure what to think himself, considering he'd never heard of anyone named Titania.

Leo noticed the look on his sister's face and became defensive, "She was here, I wasn't the only one who saw her! Rainbow, Raj and Felix did, too!"

"Leo, I just find it hard to believe this girl made it into our castle and then vanished," Cuore commented, still looking confused.

"Well, she did. She wished me a happy birthday and gave me this," he said defiantly, tapping the pin on his jacket.

Cuore sighed in defeat, "Very well, I believe you, though I still find it odd."

Leo just shrugged again, "Well, she's my friend, and I was glad to see her."

He skipped off, back the way he came, and Cuore shook her head. "I'm not sure what to think," she lamented. "I have looked and asked around and no one seems to know who this little girl is! Besides Leo and his three friends, it's like she doesn't exist."

"Maybe she's a ghost," Sarah said, offering a smile.

Cuore returned a flat look to her, "Yes, _clearly_ that is the most logical conclusion,"

Sarah giggled, not looking the least bit bothered by her friend's tone. Ceodore guessed she must have been used it, having grown up with the teal haired young woman.

Ursula leaned forward, "Cuore, Seren already cast a spell? Isn't she a little young for that? I mean, I don't know that much about magic, but…"

Cuore sighed wistfully, letting her gaze slide across the balcony to the children. "We _think_ she cast a spell. One of the walls in her room was blackened as though by fire, but nothing else was damaged. Seren's only comment was 'boom'. If not magic, then I don't know what else would have caused the phenomenon."

"The ghost," Kieran said.

She shot him an unappreciative look. He grinned in response and Sarah laughed softly into her hand.

Cuore continued, "Leo seems more versed in black magic, and if Seren did cast a spell, then it seems closer to my father's type of magic. It appears they have reversed their magic."

Ursula smiled slowly, "I'm not sure why you seem so surprised,"

"I'm not sure what to expect from day to day," Cuore admitted. Her tone wasn't the least bit aggravated; if anything, she sounded pleased.

It was unlike her to enjoy uncertainty, but Ceodore supposed if it had to do with her family, she would make an exception.

"My friends!"

They all turned to look as Rolf approached, ever cheerful and holding a bundle of different instruments in his arms.

"Hey Rolf," Ceodore greeted, giving a small wave. "Have fun entertaining the children?"

"Children are the best audience," he explained, "they simply like everything so long as it isn't boring,"

"And you being over here now means they got bored, right?" Kieran asked.

Rolf looked puzzled and unsure how to answer. Ursula rolled her eyes and flicked her hand at Kieran in a gesture of dismissal. "Rolf, ignore him."

The bard nodded and smiled once more, "Very well! So then, what can I do to brighten your days? A song, perhaps?"

Cuore smiled, though it looked slightly pained, "Rolf, I don't need another song constructed in my honor,"

"Neither do I," Sarah said, holding up her hands. "Though I was flattered by the last one…no one's ever written me a song before…"

Rolf beamed at her and swept his arm in a grand gesture, "My pleasure,"

"I'll take a song," Kieran said.

Rolf pursed his lips and stared for a moment before sighing regretfully, "I fear I don't know you well enough to craft an adequate verse,"

Kieran looked around the circle of friends and made a face, "I think you're just writing songs for the pretty girls,"

Ceodore started laughing, having thought the same thing. Rolf looked taken back and blinked, clearly unsure how to answer such a comment.

Ursula leaned back in her chair smugly, "I will have you know, he wrote me a poem, not a song,"

Ceodore looked at her, "_What?_ When was this?"

She bat her eye lashes with an annoyingly coy smirk on her lips. He frowned at her.

Apparently wanting to direct attention off himself, Rolf instead turned to Cuore, "Ah, but what about you? Care to dazzle us with your melodious voice in a song?"

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"I have heard you have a lovely voice," he said, all smiles.

Cuore glared at Sarah, "I told you not to tell anyone!"

Her friend chuckled nervously, tugging on her hair sheepishly, "Sorry Cuore, but we were talking about music, and I mentioned that I used to play flute, and then…well, I mentioned you sing…"

"I told you that in confidence," Cuore complained, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She was obviously embarrassed, but for the life of him, Ceodore wasn't sure why.

"You sing?" he asked, leaning forward. "You never told me that,"

She sighed, cheeks colored slightly, "I _don't _sing,"

"You told me Siren taught you in the Feymarch," Sarah remarked, looking puzzled.

Cuore shifted in her seat, "Yes, but that doesn't mean I sing in front of _people_,"

"Cuore!" Leo called, grinning, "You should sing! You sound so pretty!"

Seren nodded, "Yeah!"

Cuore glared at them, "I do not!"

"So," Kieran said causally, "You don't sing in front of people…except your brother and sister?"

She shifted her glare to him, but Ursula reached across the table to grab her arm, "Oh, come on Cuore! I'd love to hear you! I didn't know you sang…"

Cuore opened her mouth to protest, but Ceodore grinned, "Come on, we're your friends. It can't be that bad,"

"Please, Cuore?" Sarah begged, clasping her hands together. "I'm sure you're wonderful. Rolf can play for you,"

He nodded happily and passed a flute to her, "And you will play with me!"

She gasped, eyes lighting up, "Oh wow! This is a salikawood flute! These are so expensive…I haven't played in ages…and never with anything this nice…" She turned to Cuore, pleading written across her face. "Oh, please Cuore? It will be fun!"

Cuore winced, "Unlikely,"

"_One_ song," Ceodore said, holding up his index finger. "Just one,"

"_No_,"

Kieran tugged on her arm, trying to get her to her feet, "Too bad, blade dancer, your signing,"

"I don't think so, cloud biter," she said, laughing humorlessly.

Leo and Seren had gathered their friends into a flurry of pleas as well, and finally the teal haired teen slumped in her seat, head hanging low.

"Alright, fine," she snapped, heaving a heavy sigh. "I'll sing…"

She looked around, startled, "_One_ song, and I pick it and you say _nothing_,"

Everyone nodded and Ceodore grinned at her, earning him an extra glare.

She stood, brushing nervously at her hair while she conversed with Rolf and Sarah, apparently checking if they knew the song she wanted to sing. Rolf nodded, looking pleased with her choice, and went to sit on the railing of the balcony. Sarah giggled and pranced over, settling next to him, all smiles.

"Not a word to anyone of this," Cuore said, pointing dangerously at everyone present. "It's bad enough I'm doing it at all, I doubt want to talk about it after the fact,"

Ursula held up a hand, "Our lips are sealed,"

Cuore cast one last annoyed and nervous glance at them, before she took a deep breath and accepted her fate.

Ceodore should have known to expect that she would be a good singer.

It was _Cuore_, after all.

But he was surprised; the sound was warmer then he would have thought coming from her. There was no doubt that she was good, and that the sound was haunting, but it was almost _too _perfect, making it all the more eerie.

_Dreaming of the stars on high _

_That speak to me in secret sighs _

_Drifting on a breeze only I can feel and hear… _

Rolf may not have been one of the best bards in Damcyan, and certainly no Gilbert, but he was good. His stringed instrument melded with Cuore's voice tone perfectly.

_Could it be the sacred wind _

_It's calling me to now begin _

_To walk into the dark carrying the light of tomorrow… _

_Beating are the wings up high _

_Beyond the earth, beyond the sky _

_Come now, don't hesitate _

_Don't look back, we've got to go now… _

_Don't fear, _

_You'll be safe from now on _

_Morning sky watching over the world… _

_Deep inside so silently, _

_Here my heart must beat, _

_Deep inside of me… _

_Memories flickering and shimmering on endlessly…_

Sarah, who had sworn she was out of practice, sounded like an expert on the woodwind flute, wide smile on her face. She was clearly pleased to involved in the moment.

_Keeping close to the path _

_Morning sky watching over the world… _

_Moving over endless mountains oh so high, _

_Walking to the light, _

_Your heart will see the path and you will find the way… _

_Just wait and see, _

_Moving over endless sky oh so high, _

_Tomorrow will follow _

_When above, your promise is today, _

_Just wait and see…_

As the last note played on Rolf's instrument, Ceodore blinked, realizing that the song was over and that everyone else was likewise still.

Cuore nervously brushed at her hair and self-consciously tugged at her skirt, clearly uncomfortable and waiting for someone to speak.

Ursula, naturally, broke the awkward silence.

"You're really good!" she exclaimed, smiling widely. "Why is it I've never heard you sing?"

"Me either," Sarah chimed in, hopping to her feet and touching Cuore's shoulder. "You have a beautiful singing voice. It's a true gift!"

Cuore averted her gaze, "Not really,"

"Well, I know Siren taught you, but still! You have natural talent!" Sarah said, squeezing her arm. Rolf nodded, coming to stand by them as well. "Indeed! I am most pleased to have had the chance to accompany you!"

Ceodore could tell Cuore was not only uncomfortable but also dissatisfied, though she offered them both a tight smile, regardless. "Talent, yes. Natural? No."

Ceodore made a face and Ursula shook her head, "What do you mean?"

"The Maenads were…designed with heightened vocal chords. It was to create a more stable inflection to maximize spell casting of this planet's magic." The teal haired teen explained. Her voice was cautious, hesitant. Her expression was guarded and wary, and she wasn't meeting anyone's gaze.

Ceodore knew how much her past troubled her, but he'd never talked to her much about it. He remembered she'd been less afraid of it as a child. Perhaps it was the world's view that fueled her dislike now, and he felt a twinge of guilt.

He had no idea what to say, and neither did anyone else judging by the hushed silence and the looks being darted around.

"Just another thing you're good at, blade dancer." Kieran commented flippantly. "I don't think that surprises anyone here,"

Ceodore shifted his gaze to Cuore worriedly, concerned she would take his comment poorly. He was surprised when she glanced up and smiled slightly again, teasing right back.

"Well, someone around here has to carry the rest of you no-talent hacks,"

Rolf gasped and she grinned at him, "Kidding, Rolf. You were splendid."

"Ah, thank you!" he said, back to smiling and sweeping in grand gestures. Kieran nodded to Cuore, "Nice song,"

This time she smiled for real and clasped her hands behind her back. "Thanks."

Sarah nodded, "And an excellent choice of songs!"

"I feel as though I've heard it before," Ceodore admitted, finally having something to add to the conversation. Somehow they had skirted the awkward tension and were back to normal. He was grateful, even if he couldn't figure out exactly how it happened. The prince was not fond of stressed moments.

Kieran nodded agreement to his comment, "Me too, though maybe not the words. The melody?"

Sarah beamed at them, "It's an old song from Mist, actually! Very old, but everyone knows it, still. We used to have a lot of music, actually. Or so I've heard."

Cuore held up her hands and shrugged, "I know a vast number of songs, but most of them are obscure. I'm glad you two knew which song I was referring too."

Rolf flashed her another smile, "Of course! I have studied all the olden songs, especially those that Gilbert himself has learned from his many travels. Ah, indeed, he'll be sorry to have missed this impromptu concert,"

Cuore glared at him, "He doesn't hear about it, no one does, remember? This doesn't leave the balcony."

"Terrace!" Tsukinowa called, grinning. "And I'm telling, you can't stop me."

"Really? I can always tell a _certain someone_ about a stalking condition you have," Cuore threatened. The children nearby giggled.

Tsukinowa glared at her, "You wouldn't,"

"I might."

Porom chuckled and pat his head, "Aw, you have a crush on someone? Who is it? And you better not have told Palom and not me…"

Tsukinowa sighed in defeat.

* * *

Cuore hummed to herself as she braided her hair and read through a passage of poetry.

She didn't understand most of what she was reading, as nothing contained within these 'poems' was factual, but Gilbert had sent it with Harley as her birthday present, so she was attempting to decipher the meaning.

Cuore frowned and paused in her hair to flip the page and start another haiku.

"_I really don't understand this_…" she admitted, eyes skimming the pages.

"_It's poetry, what's there to get_?" Cagnazzo said. She could picture him shrugging.

Scarmiglione spoke up quietly, "_I like poetry_…"

The other three Element Guard groaned.

"_You would_," Barbariccia spat, sounding disgusted.

Cuore ignored their typical bickering and read aloud; "The wren earns his living noiselessly."

She wrinkled her nose, "_That is a completely false statement! Wrens are one of the loudest birds on the blue planet, especially in comparison to their small size. Besides, why would a bird need to earn a living? They have no need or use for currency_…"

"_It's a poem, Cuore_," Anima explained. "_They are not created or dreamed up to convey facts, but emotions! How does it make you feel_?"

She frowned, "_Frustrated_."

She heard a smattering of chuckles and grinned, closing the book now that her braid was complete. "_Maybe next time I see said spoony bard, he can walk me through it_."

Cuore sighed and flopped back onto her bed, drained from the last few busy days, yet too wired to sleep. Her friends would be leaving tomorrow, and as much as she liked her solitude and order to her life, she would miss them.

Their time visiting had been short. But she'd already decided to not miss anymore world meetings this year. Kieran would have her head if she did, anyway.

"_By the way_," Phoenix whispered, "_I wanted to tell you that you song earlier was lovely,_"

Cuore sighed again, "_Perhaps_."

"_No, I mean that, truly. You know what that song is about, do you not_?"

She smiled slowly, "_Why do you think I chose that one_?"

"_Ah, as always, you are one step ahead_," Phoenix teased, voice light.

Cuore rolled over onto her stomach, resting her chin on her hands, "_I wish that I was good at something that wasn't just because I was a Maenad. Something that was just me, something that made me…unique._"

"_But you are unique_!" Midgardsormr exclaimed, "_Just like everyone else!_"

There were groans and Cuore giggled, "_Thank you, Midgardsormr…I think_…"

"_Phoenix is right_," Rubicante spoke up after a lull. "_You sang beautifully._"

"_I had a good teacher_," she replied, smiling once more.

Barb snorted, "_Yes, I suspect Siren will be pleased to know you aren't wasting your talent, no matter how you feel about it_."

Cuore let her eyes study the top of her bedding, "_I wouldn't waste what I've been…given. But it doesn't make it feel all that special. Everything I am isn't real, you know. I'm good at so many things but really, I'm just copying. It's nothing new._"

"_Your heart is new_," Phoenix said softly. "_Your will is new. Your mindset is new. You, destined one, are different than any other Maenad. That is what makes you unique._" She laughed, the sound ringing like bells, "_Just like the song says; your heart will see the path and you will find the way._"

"_Funny how that song about me really does fit, eh_?" Cuore commented, rolling onto her back once more. "_But I guess that's what happens when ancient summoners take a possible future from Zodiark and Ultima. They immortalize it in song_…"

"_You're famous_!" Midgardsormr said.

Cuore chuckled, "_I guess so_…"

She yawned, "_Famous or not, I need to sleep. I have to see my friends off tomorrow, after all_…"

* * *

As bittersweet as Cuore found it to say goodbye to her friends, Leo found it twice as tough. He wasn't sad, just disappointed and already planning trips and visits to and from all the locations his friends lived. Cuore smiled as she watched, and was glad he even made an effort to say goodbye to Pamela. The little girl lamented for a moment, having finally left poor Ceodore alone.

Sarah had snagged her first for a hug, chattering on to her about how excited she was to have come, and how much she would enjoy the trip back and how nice of her friends for offering to share their boat ride.

Cuore laughed, assuring her it was good to see her, too. She didn't offer to travel and visit Sarah, as she knew how horrible a return to Mist would be, but she starting wondering if there was a way she could get her friend back here. Sarah let go, smile sad, and bit her lip before whispering something for their ears only.

"You will _always_ be my friend, Cuore. Always."

Cuore blinked and smiled, unable to voice how much those words meant too her. However, her old friend seemed to know and finally just stepped back to let the others have their chance to say goodbye.

Ursula held Cuore in a bone crushing embrace. "Oh, I don't want to go yet! I _need_ to come visit again. You have to let me," the blonde princess said, chin resting on Cuore's shoulder. "I had so much fun!"

She chuckled, "Me too, Ursula. I promise I'll see you at the next gathering, which is only a little bit away, you know. We can plan our visits then."

Ursula sighed, gave her one last squeeze and finally released her. "Alright, you better show up,"

"I will," she promised, nodding.

Kieran tugged Ursula back by her arm, "Let her breathe, Ursula. Besides, Ceodore will take twice as long to say goodbye and then we'll miss our boat."

She huffed and stepped to the side so the prince could hug Cuore. The entrance way was cramped, and those left standing in it were only the royal children and their friends. Everyone else had already said their goodbyes.

"Thanks for having us," Ceodore said, "I hope you had fun. This was about you, after all."

Cuore smiled, though he couldn't see her, "Well, it was really for Leo and Seren, but yes, I had fun. It was good to see you all again."

"Ursula's right," he said, pulling back enough to see her, though he left his hands on her upper arms. "You'd better show up to the next gathering. We've all missed you, you know."

Cuore felt a prick of guilt and nodded, offering him another smile. "I promise I will be there. We'll crash the party in style, all of us."

He chuckled and finally let her go, leaving Cuore to glance at her brother who was waving goodbye to his friends. Seren watched him for a moment and then copied the gesture.

Cuore glanced back at her friends, "Thank you for escorting Leo's friends to the port. I would come with you but I've been tasked with watching my younger siblings."

"We could all go!" Leo suggested.

Cuore frowned at him, "You have classes, and Seren needs a nap."

Both of them pouted.

Cuore rolled her eyes, smiling at their antics and turned back around, catching Kieran's eye.

There was an awkward pause.

"Um…" she started, fiddling with the bracelet around her wrist, "Thank you for coming,"

It sounded hesitant even to Cuore's ears and she winced. They may have been friends, but she didn't feel comfortable enough to hug him.

Not only because she wasn't that keen on physical contact but because she was pretty sure he would throw a fit too.

That left them at an awkward stand-still.

He shrugged, "Sure thing,"

Another pause. Cuore caught Ursula roll her eyes and frowned, not sure how to overcome this tension and just move on.

Seren broke it and hopped up and down, still waving, "Bye! Bye!"

Everyone had to chuckle at her comment and they slowly dispersed. There were more quick hugs and hurried goodbyes until they met next time, and slowly but surely everyone left until it was only the three Geraldine kids standing in the doorway.

Leo looked at Cuore, "Do I _have_ to go to classes?"

"Yes, you do little brother." she replied, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He sighed and she grinned, "But, afterwards we three are spending the day together. Mom and dad are busy, maybe even for dinner."

"Can we have candy for dinner?" Seren asked, tipping her head to one side.

Cuore made a face, "No we can't have candy for dinner…who would want that?"

Leo and Seren exchanged a glance.

Cuore felt like she was missing something.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Bah, I couldn't decide when/how to end this one...it's still a little...awkward. Or was that just Kieran and Cuore? _*echoy shout* "just kiss her already!"_**

**So, a couple of notes...first off, Mythweaver pointed out to me that the Russian Swan Lake couple on the Olympics...and she said that the guy's outfit reminded her of Kieran's, albeit sparkly. So, you all need to go and find a picture of it. Clearly. Hehe...**

**I made up Ceodore's middle name...I'm so mean to him...hehehehehe**

**Also, no matter what I write in original fiction I always include a singer named Rolf. Why? I don't know, it's just a little in-joke I have in every story. I added him here, so I thought I'd better explain why.**

**I usually hate fiction that has songs in it...but I am now part of the problem...darn it...Props and pretend cookies to anyone who knows what that song is from, though!**

**Hmm...and what's with Titania?**

**The next few chapters are full of awkward fluffy antics, and then it's time to get to the real story going on here!**


	6. Benevolence

**Another chapter! There's also an epic rant at the bottom of this...**

**Also, how are people liking the length of these chapters? Too short? Too long? Just right? I'm purposely trying to keep them shorter then my last story, but let me know what you think.**

* * *

Ceodore was not looking forward to the boat ride home. He would undoubtedly become ill, and it took so much time. He supposed he should glad that he wouldn't be stuck with just Kieran for company.

Since Sarah had to dock in Baron anyway to get back to Mist, they offered to take her with them. Well, Kain had offered and Ceodore felt badly for not thinking of it himself.

The girl was sweet; it was obvious why she had befriended Cuore all those years ago. Ceodore and Ursula had both lightly scolded her for the use of titles, though.

Ceodore leaned against the railing on the edge of the dock, glaring at their boat. He wished the warp spell would carry over oceans.

Sarah wandered up, hands twisting around each other in front of her. She smiled timidly, "Um…hi…"

He smiled back, "Hi. What's up?"

"Um…" she blinked and glanced over her shoulder before turning back to him, concern written across her features. "I don't think Kieran likes me very much…Did I do something to offend him?"

Ceodore rolled his eyes, "He's always like that. Ignore him."

"Are you sure?" she asked, playing nervously with her skirt. "I would hate for this trip back to Baron to be awkward because of something I did…"

The prince gazed at her sympathetically, "Trust me, it's not you. Kieran is just…icy. You get used to it."

She frowned, eyes studying the ground, "He's not like that with Cuore,"

Ceodore chuckled, "No, he's worse…" He winced, "Not that I'm gossiping, I just…well, never mind."

Sarah tipped her head to one side in a gesture reminiscent of the teal haired teen, "They seemed to get along quite well at her birthday party. I only wondered if maybe he didn't like me because…well, because of what happened all those years ago. I wasn't a very good friend to Cuore…"

Ceodore felt like the girl was guilt tripping right in front of him and frowned, not sure why people always decided he wanted to know all their dark secrets.

"Uh," he said, tapping his fingers against the wooden guard, "I don't think…that's it, and I don't think Cuore is mad at you or anything…"

Sarah smiled, "I know. She's nice that way."

There was an awkward pause and then Sarah giggled, shyness gone as she nodded towards one of the other berths. "Princess Ursula is watching us. I think she wants to say goodbye to you. Their boat is leaving in a few minutes, I heard."

Ceodore frowned, resisting the urge to look in the direction of Fabul's ship. "She already said goodbye,"

"Oh, Ceodore, go talk to her," Kieran complained, walking up with a scroll in hand.

The prince glanced at his hand and then quirked an eyebrow.

Kieran rolled his eyes, "Kain forgot to give the port master one of our permits or something or other…I don't know. He told me to deliver it to the man before he impounds our boat and we can't leave."

"I think Eblan has impounded more boats from Kain then anyone else in the history of their country…" Ceodore mused.

Kieran shrugged, "Makes you wonder what he did to piss off the port authority." The dark haired young man pointed at Ursula with the scroll, "Go talk to her. I'll be back in a few minutes. Our boat is leaving in less than an hour."

Sarah hesitated, "Um…do you want help?"

Kieran gave her a weird look, "Who, me? I don't need help running a scroll to someone, thanks."

She bit her lip and Ceodore sighed, sparing his friend a harsh look. Kieran just made a face back at him and then glanced at Sarah, who looked uneasy.

He seemed to notice her look and frowned before sighing and speaking again in a softer tone; "Thanks, though. You might want to get on board pretty soon and get settled in."

She smiled slightly and nodded, hesitating for a moment before walking away, towards their vessel.

"Tact, Kieran. Remember how we talked about that?" Ceodore commented sarcastically.

Kieran stared back impassively, "Backbone, Ceodore. Remember that?"

The prince scowled at him and tracked him with his eyes as he brushed past to head further into the port.

Ceodore waited for a moment before glancing at Fabul's ship and making up his mind. One last goodbye couldn't hurt, especially when she had dodged his questions about when they would see each other again.

He took his time approaching and noticed that Ursula's parents were engaged in a conversation with some of the sailors. Ursula looked bored, staring out at the water with her arms crossed.

She caught his eye and blinked, as if surprised, and he offered a wave in greeting. He didn't make it very far in walking over because she darted away from her group and ran to meet him. She snagged his arm and hauled him around a stack of barrels and crates nearby.

He squeaked in surprise, tripping over his own feet a little and wincing at her strong grip.

"Ursula," Ceodore frowned, twisting his arm free and pinning her with an annoyed look. "What was that for?"

"I didn't want you getting into a conversation with my parents," Ursula said.

Ceodore made a face, "Huh? I like your parents…"

"I know, but they will keep us here all day talking…" she complained, crossing her arms again. He noted how anxious she seemed, constantly fidgeting.

"Um…okay," he mumbled, rubbing his arm awkwardly. "Anyway…um…"

She frowned at him, shifting her weight to one leg, "I did not grab you that hard,"

He stopped touching his arm and forced himself to drop his hands to his side. He frowned at her, "Are you mad at me again?"

"What? No…" Ursula said, rolling her eyes.

Ceodore squinted at her, "Are you sure? Your being…"

He trailed off, not sure what word to describe her mood, let alone one that she wouldn't find offensive.

"What did you need?" the princess asked, tone lightening slightly.

He blinked, "Oh, nothing, I just…thought I'd say goodbye,"

Ursula gave him a once over, "You already said that,"

"Well…another goodbye," he explained haltingly.

There was a spilt second of an awkward pause before she hopped forward and used his shoulders for balance to kiss him.

As usual, she was unpredictable and impossible to understand. They were apparently playing a game, one he didn't understand the rules of.

One moment she was indifferent to him completely, the next she acted like her life depended on his presence being near hers.

He was so confused.

Since she had caught him guard, he didn't really do anything but stand stock still, and she released him after a moment. "Sorry," she commented, brushing at her bangs, "I assumed you meant _that_ kind of goodbye,"

Ceodore wasn't really sure what to say to that and blinked a couple of times. "Well, no…but…I'm not complaining…"

She rolled her eyes at him and he frowned, "Hey, _you_ kissed _me_!"

"Oh, whatever," Ursula muttered, flicking his shoulder with her hand, "I have to go. Try not to throw up on your trip back."

She turned to leave and his eyes widened, confusion doubling. He acted on impulse and reached out to grab her arm, "Wait!"

"Ugh, what!" she complained, brushing his hand off. "You're lucky I didn't just break your arm,"

It was his turn to roll his eyes, "You knew it was me, stop being so dramatic,"

She turned back and frowned at him, "What, Ceodore? You want another kiss?"

"No…maybe…" he corrected, averting his gaze. At her face he continued, "No, that isn't why I stopped you from leaving. I'm just…really confused about…us…"

She propped on hand on her hip, glancing around their cover before turning back to him, "Can we talk about this later?"

"When?" he asked, opening his hands wide. "You avoided my question of when you were coming for a visit…"

She visibly hesitated and Ceodore sighed, "Look, I just…you used to visit every month, and now I hardly see you. I was hoping…things could go back to the way they were,"

Ursula's expression softened slightly, "I…don't know when I'm coming for a visit."

He knew his body posture and facial expression turned crestfallen because she hurriedly continued. "But, my parents sort of have travel fever. Maybe…we'll stop by Baron soon and then…I don't know, and then…"

She seemed to grapple for the right word and he waved a hand in front of her, "That's all I needed to hear,"

She looked relived and gave him a half smile, "I'll shoot you a letter when I get back home and sleep off this time-zone lag, okay?"

Ceodore nodded, pleased with the compromise. She tossed him a sassy look, "Now, I have to go. For real this time!"

He let her take a few steps but then dodged in front of her to steal another quick kiss. She socked him in the shoulder, cheeks flushed. He winced but grinned at her, "Worth it,"

She groaned, rolled her eyes and flipped one of her pigtails back over her shoulder.

"Boys…" she muttered, walking back into the bustle of the docks.

* * *

"Emperor of flames and heat, come and grant my enemies defeat! Rubicante, I summon thee!"

Cuore winced at the shower of rocks overhead and hissed, annoyed. "I hate flying monsters…"

Rubicante glared at her as soon as he had fully appeared, "You summoned me against something airborne? What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Don't get sassy!" she chided, ducking from underneath her cover before it collapsed on top of her. She took a swipe at the Strato Avis, but it dodged blithely, letting out an ear-piercing cry.

Rubicante tracked the creature and frowned, "Maybe you should have brought an archer with you,"

Cuore skidded to a stop from her dance to avoid the raking talons of the monster and twisted around to glare at the Eidolon. "You sound like Izayoi!" she griped, tossing up her tungsten carbide katana as a hasty shield.

He frowned at her, "Why didn't you summon someone more adapt at aerial combat?"

"I thought I'd summon someone with _less_ attitude then Barb," she shot back sarcastically. "Can you help me out, here?"

"In over your head?"

Cuore laughed and rolled to the side, "Depends…I could probably take that thing out with my magic, but I don't want to tear up the surrounding field."

He looked around at the farm, "Ah, so you summoned someone that creates infernos. Good idea."

"Rubi, don't make me hit you," she said, coming to stand by his side and catch her breath.

The red color bird was circling overhead, plants clutched in its talons. It was squawking at them, as if annoyed it's day of fun had been disturbed.

"Strato Avis is a breed of bird found in Troia," she complained, tapping her swords against the ground, keeping the rhyme of the battle in her ears. "What the hell is it doing out here?"

"Eating crops," Rubicante observed flatly, glancing at the ground that had been churned up.

Cuore frowned up at him, "Seriously, what is with you today? I thought you'd be glad for a fight…"

He wouldn't meet her gaze, which was odd, and she cocked her head to one side, keeping her ears trained on the bird still flying above them. "Rubi?"

He sighed and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, "I find it unwise to summon me…_here_,"

It took her a moment to understand what he was getting at and she bit her lip, "Oh…right…_that_…"

She looked around, "Well, no one is out here…if that makes you feel better…"

He stared at her and she offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry. Do you want me to release you?"

Their conversation was cut short when the bird swooped down again. A lot of things happened at once; Rubicante started to warn her and readied a fireball, Cuore back flipped out of the way, and the bird crash landed into the dusty ground.

She recovered fast and lunged forward to catch the throat of the monster as it reared up, trying to take flight again. She wasn't sure if the blow was clean enough to end the poor thing's life, so she drove one of her katanas through its midsection for good measure. It only flopped once and then laid still.

Cuore blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and grinned at Rubicante, "Guess I didn't need your help after all,"

She yanked her blade free and looked over the monster, kneeling down to clean her swords.

"What were you doing all the way out here…" she whispered, squinting at the feathers and body of the creature.

"You and I both know you didn't need my help," Rubicante said, crossing his arms.

Cuore looked up and smiled sheepishly, "I suppose,"

"Why waste the energy to summon me, then?"

She averted her gaze, "I…miss you. All of you. I thought it might be nice to summon you once in a while, but it seems…inane within Bab-Il or the castle…"

"But out here?" he questioned.

She laughed lightly, "Well, I can always use the excuse of battle,"

He took a moment to say anything and finally sighed, "We miss you too. Speaking with you every day is…enjoyable, but it is not the same."

Cuore nodded, though her attention was diverted when she noticed something off about her recent fiend. "This plumage is wrong."

"How so?" Rubicante asked, kneeling down beside her.

She pointed to the crest on the bird's head, "Strato Avis's have brighter plumage on their crowns, and it's red, not…black."

"Then what is this?"

She frowned, "I have no idea…some sort of hybrid? But where did it come from?"

Rubicante shrugged, "Where do any fiends come from,"

"They come from a variety of sources," she began but he set a hand on her shoulder. "Cuore, that was rhetorical."

She shifted her gaze to him and smiled slowly, "See? I miss this…"

He nodded agreement and she stood, sighing and sheathing her weapons, "Well, another rank three down. I should go and tell the gang it's taken care of. And Kimiko said they couldn't corner the thing…"

She turned and smiled at him again, "Do you want me to release you?"

Rubicante paused and then shook his head, "No, I shall walk part of the way with you,"

Cuore grinned, "Great. Let's go."

* * *

The trek to the port near the coast took a few hours from their current location, and after a while she began to feel the drain on her magical reserves and finally released Rubicante back to the Feymarch, favoring telepathic communication.

"_How come you didn't summon me!_" Caganazzo complained.

Cuore smiled as she hopped over some rocky terrain, "_Sorry Cag, but you…would have been at an even worse disadvantage then Rubi in an aerial fight_!"

"_I think he's just your favorite_," Cag grumbled.

Cuore gasped, "_I don't play favorites_!"

"_Besides, if anyone is her favorite, it is I,_" Phoenix said, laughter plain in her voice. "_After all, I saved her life._"

They all groaned and mumbled at that and Cuore giggled, stopping on a slight rise to look backwards, catching sight of the tower off in the distance. "_Come on, you guys. I love all of you_,"

It took some coaxing, but they finally agreed and quieted down. Cuore shielded her eyes from the sun and surveyed the tower and mountains.

She had the day to herself. Her parents were busy with royal things that Cuore purposely ignored, while Leo was in classes and Seren had come down with a slight cold. The girl insisted she was fine, but her runny nose said otherwise.

Cuore hadn't been out hunting monsters or just on walks for quite some time, and it felt surprisingly enjoyable. It had been two days since her friends had departed, and she found herself at odds on when to return to work on the Tower of Babil.

Her repairs and upgrades were needed, but they were time consuming and boring. It was tedious, and it took a great deal of her time to complete the work. She had estimated she was still years away from being finished.

Cuore sighed, closing her eyes as a breeze swept by.

She was only eighteen, and yet she felt as though she had lived three lifetimes already.

Maybe it was the copious memories she had, or maybe it was because so much had already happened in the last few years. Either way, she was tired.

With one last sigh, she continued on her way, intent on reporting in and seeing her friends from the city before she returned to her home for the evening. Besides, they might have another hunt for her.

As always, the port was full of activity and Cuore attracted more attention than she wanted in the form of hellos and waves and generally being in the way.

People were always pacing about, moving things from one side of the area to the other, only to move it the next day. She had spent time simply watching the movements, and yet still it confused her.

Cuore waved at one of the merchants who greeted her and sidestepped a rather loud conversation between some girls. She winced and tucked a strand of teal hair behind her ear, realizing it had naturally fallen out of the braid she'd tied it into.

Fights with flying monsters would do that.

There was a ruckus as she passed the port authority building and, curious, she paused and then wandered over. One of the voices involved sounded vaguely familiar, but she was too far away to make out what was being said, so pattered a little closer.

"Unless my evil doppelganger somehow crawled its way off Mt. Ordeals, swam over here and got on that boat, your records are wrong!"

That voice, with all its cynicism and annoyance was easy enough to know even before she saw who it was.

The man at the door, who was physically holding it shut to avoid letting anyone into the building, frowned. "My records show that you boarded that boat. You have no passport or ticket."

Cuore slipped through the last of the gathering crowd and blinked, opening her mouth to speak though she was ignored.

Kieran glared at the man, "Of course I don't have my passport! Kain had it and somehow it got lost!"

"Sir, yelling at me is not going to solve your problem."

"My problem is _you_! Where the hell is the port master?" Kieran said, crossing his arms.

The man continued to frown, "He is in unavailable."

"Like hell he is,"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

Kieran pointed at him, "I'm calling you an obnoxious pain in my neck. I just want to _leave_!"

"You could be a criminal attempting to escape," the man pointed out, shrugging. He was remarkably calm. "You _are_ carrying a weapon,"

"That and the clothes on my back are all I have," Kieran snapped. "Look, you want me gone and I want to leave, so, why can't you just ship me off on the next boat!"

"Sir, that simply isn't possible without a passport. And I'm fairly certain that you've already tried and failed to sneak onto a boat,"

Cuore stifled a giggle at the look Kieran got on his face.

"You are causing a scene. If you don't calm down and leave, I'll have to call someone to remove you." the man finished.

Kieran shook his head, "Go ahead. Maybe then I can get somewhere…"

Cuore, sick of being ignored, finally sighed and stepped between them, putting one hand on her hip, "Kieran,"

He looked surprisingly embarrassed to have been caught although he merely sighed, "Hey Cuore,"

She glanced between the two and frowned, "What…is going on?"

"You know him?" the man at the door asked.

She nodded, "Yes,"

"Well, can you get him to stop causing a scene. He was here yesterday, too."

Kieran glared at him, "I wouldn't have to cause a scene if you would just let me talk to someone about getting out of here!"

Cuore sighed and tugged on his arm, tossing a smile over her shoulder, "Sorry, we'll be right back."

She was surprised that Kieran didn't resist being led away, though she heard him muttering under his breath. Once they were far enough away from the building, she released his arm and peered up at him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you all left the day before yesterday…"

Kieran sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Everyone else did, but apparently my passport was lost, which means I can't board any transports out of your country."

Cuore's brow furrowed, "Why didn't someone else just vouch for you and confirm your identity?"

He sighed again, "They could have except that I was giving the port master, who ironically now won't see me, some papers Kain forgot to give him so we could leave. I wasn't even there when they revoked my ticket."

Cuore winced, "I'm sorry."

He shrugged one shoulder and glared back at the building, "It's not your fault."

Cuore studied him and gently touched his arm again to gain his attention, "Kieran, why didn't you just come to the castle?"

He hesitated, glancing at her and then away before another sigh escaped his lips. "I…didn't want to be a bother,"

She frowned, puzzled, and tipped her head to one side, "You're not a bother…you should have some and seen us. I'm sure I can help you out,"

"You'll get me into seeing the port master?" he asked hopefully.

Cuore shook her head, "He's on holiday with his family until the day after tomorrow."

Kieran frowned, crossing his arms and she quickly continued, not wanting him to get discouraged or annoyed again. "However, once he is back, then yes, I can get you in to see him. Until then, come back with me."

"It's fine, I'll just wait here." he commented, waving a hand in a general gesture.

She raised an eyebrow and gazed around the square they were in. She was trying to figure out if he meant this exact location or if it was another human phrase that meant something different.

Speaking cautiously, she turned back to him, "Um…you mean…here in the port?"

Kieran looked moderately confused by her question but nodded, "Yeah,"

Cuore frowned and adjusted the katanas on her back to a more comfortable position, feeling annoyed by their weight. She spoke distractedly, realizing how she must look after the fight with the bird.

"Well, I suppose if you wanted…just make sure to stay at the inn that has the blue paint on the outside. They take good care of their patrons. The other one, well, it's just not as nice and there were some thefts reported."

Kieran let his arms drop to his side, "Oh….right…"

Cuore blinked at him, flicking a strand of hair off her face, "Did you stay there last night? I'm sorry…"

He didn't reply and she felt as though he was hiding something from her. "Kieran,"

"What?" he asked. His tone held a hint of defense to it and she crossed her arms, not deterred. "Where did you sleep last night?"

"I…" he started, averting his gaze. "Around."

Her eyes widened, "Kieran! Did you even sleep inside? Did you…wait, were you just…on the street?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," he muttered under his breath.

Cuore was startled and she gasped, tone slipping into scolding out of her concern. "I can't believe it! Why didn't you just stay at an inn?"

"I have no money," Kieran retorted, pinning her with an annoyed look. "I literally have nothing but what I'm wearing. Bags were on the boat that left without me. Money was too."

"Come," she said sternly, grabbing his arm. "You are coming back with me to the castle,"

"I'm fine," he insisted.

She shook her head, "No, you aren't. Honestly, why didn't you just come find me? You could have stayed with us!"

"I'm _fine_," he repeated.

Cuore sighed and closed her eyes, "Kieran, you slept on the street last night."

"Well," Kieran remarked nonchalantly, "technically it was behind one of the warehouse storage buildings underneath an overhang, but…"

Cuore glared at him, "I don't believe you,"

"What else was I supposed to do? I'm stranded here," he complained.

She sighed, "You could have come to the castle, like I've been saying!"

"I…didn't want to bother you," he said. Even he sounded like he didn't believe his own excuse.

Cuore gave his arm another half-hearted tug, "Come back with me,"

He hesitated and seemed ready to resist, so she offered another solution, "Or…I could pay for your nights at the inn for you."

"I'm not taking your money,"

She rolled her eyes, "And I'm not letting my friend spend his nights wandering the streets like a vagrant."

Kieran frowned at her and she grinned, trying to look coy, "You have three options. I could pay your inn, you can come and stay with us in the castle or I can turn you into the law enforcement around these parts for loitering."

"Nice options," he commented sarcastically.

She beamed at him, "So, come back with me?"

"I….guess." Kieran looked uncomfortable, "I don't…want you to go out of your way for anything, I'm fine, really."

"It's no trouble,"

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

Cuore chuckled, "I'm sure they won't."

She led him back the way she'd come, deciding to put off her trip to the hunt board until next time she was in the port. It could wait, and she was already busy dealing with Kieran.

He was asking standoffish, and it was grating on her nerves. Why he hadn't thought to come to her for help with this situation, she didn't understand.

Cuore glanced over her shoulder, watching him trail after her towards the outskirts of the port. At least he was coming willingly.

She slowed her pace to allow him a chance to catch up, and when he fell into step beside her, he frowned. "Anything I should know about staying with you? Curfew? Taboos? Dangers?"

She smiled and clasped her hands behind her back, "Hmm…only three rules I can think of. Don't use titles, my parents hate that. Please ask for directions because our castle is a little strange in its layout."

"And the last?"

Cuore nodded, "And the last; don't mention the airship ferry lane. My mother has outlawed that topic from civil conversation. It's grown out of hand."

* * *

Kieran looked around the room and then turned to Cuore. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded. He was trying to pretend that this wasn't charity. She was just being nice. Too nice. He ignored the annoyance over the situation and just gestured to the room. "This is...a really nice room…why did we get weirdly decorated rooms for your party?"

Cuore blinked and he shrugged, "Not to sound like I'm complaining, because I wasn't, I just…"

"The rooms you were utilizing were the guest quarters, of which we only have five…" Cuore frowned, "We don't get a lot of guests here…"

"And this?" Kieran asked, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.

"It's a room that a former councilman was using." she explained, brushing past him to look everything over. Kieran wasn't sure what she was looking for, the place was spotless, almost creepily so.

"I think Ursula's parents might have stayed here for the party….or that other one…I'm not sure." she finished, running a hand along the bedding.

"And this…councilman?" Kieran asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"He's dead."

His eyes widened, "I get some dead guy's room?"

Cuore tossed a look over her shoulder, "It's not like he died in this room."

"You guys killed him somewhere else, then?"

She frowned, "He died of old age, I'll have you know."

Kieran shrugged and she put her hands on her hips, frown deepening.

"What was that supposed to mean, anyway?" she asked sharply.

He shrugged again, "That you're giving me some dead guy's room,"

Cuore's expression was anything but pleased, but she said nothing more. Kieran wondered why she was being so prickly, but decided against asking her. When she got this way, it was best to just avoid her.

"Well, regardless, thank you." he said. He was still feeling uneasy for accepting the help, even if he knew Cuore was just being nice. She'd said it herself; they were friends.

Cuore nodded and wandered back towards the door. "Of course. I'll try and find you some clothes…"

"Don't you have servants for that type of thing?" he quipped.

Cuore just grinned and closed the door as she left, leaving Kieran to glance around the room once more. It was a decent sized space, but he honestly didn't care all that much. Cuore was being kind by letting him stay here at all.

Still, the idea of staying here of all places was unnerving. Here, where he was pretty sure everyone hated his guts.

How could they not?

He'd been so cruel to Cuore, so unforgiving and harsh. Not to mention that he wasn't exactly pleasant to be around. Being at all associated with Kain was just the icing on the cake.

He sighed and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, wondering briefly what everyone else was doing since they had probably gotten back home safe and sound by now.

He was going to have some words with Kain when he saw him next. Someway, somehow, this was his fault.

* * *

It was dark out when a knock came at the door. Kieran lifted his head from the pillow and frowned at it. He'd been doing nothing but stare at the ceiling in boredom, but interacting with people didn't sound any better.

A servant had already brought him the promised clothing by Cuore. He had found her to be annoying, and was hoping she wasn't back.

He slowly got up and wandered over to the door, taking a deep breath before opening the door. Cuore stood on the other side, looking more put together then the last time he'd seen her. Earlier in the day she had looked like she'd gone hiking, dress hem six inches thick with mud, bare feet looking even worse and hair every which way. He hadn't bothered asking about the splatter of purplish-red on her arm.

Now she was in a different dress and her hair was braided neatly.

Cuore smiled at him, "Hi."

"Oh," he said, somewhat relieved it was her. "Hey."

She gave him a once over, "Did Lin come by earlier?"

"The mousey girl that pretended to not speak my language?" he said tartly. "Yeah, she was here."

Cuore rolled her eyes, "Sorry about that…she does that for some reason. I assure you, she does speak common tongue."

"I figured." he mumbled.

Cuore smiled again, "Anyway, I came to get you for dinner."

"Dinner?" Kieran questioned hesitantly.

Cuore blinked a few times, expression slowly dropping into confusion. "Yes, the consumption of bio matter, typically a meal served in the evening?"

"No," he sighed, exasperated. "I know what dinner _is_, I just…"

She bit her lip, clearly not sure what exactly he meant. Granted, he wasn't sure what he wanted to say, either.

"Are you telling me to come to dinner?" he clarified.

Cuore still looked puzzled, but she smiled lightly, "I assumed you wanted to eat,"

"Er, yes," Kieran admitted, wincing. "But…"

She hesitated, looking uncomfortable, "I am obviously not understanding your unspoken question. I also assume you would prefer I didn't read your mind,"

There was a hint of teasing in her voice, but it was tipped with genuine questioning. Kieran knew Cuore didn't pick up on subtle cues well, he just wasn't sure how to voice what he was really asking without her taking it the wrong way.

Finally, he just sighed again and remarked, "I don't want to be any trouble while I'm here. I'm already bothering you."

Cuore's eyes widened and she quickly flashed a smile, "Kieran, you're not a bother. I already told you that! You need to eat, and I assure you my parents won't mind you joining us,"

Her confirming the fact that this _was_ a family dinner and not something else made him wince again, wracking his brain for an excuse. He did not want to interrupt a family affair, especially with _Cuore's family_ of all people.

"I don't want to intrude,"

"I just told you that you weren't," she reminded him, tipping her head to one side quizzically.

Kieran averted his gaze, "I'm not sure me going to dinner with your family is a good idea…"

Cuore laughed softly, "Don't worry, it's been ages since we've killed anyone at the table." She grinned and put one hand on her hip, "That was a joke, by the way."

He had to smile slightly at that and nodded, "I had gathered that,"

Cuore waved him from his doorway, "Come on,"

"Cuore, I-"

She reached out and grabbed his arm, giving him a tug with another smile, "Don't worry, trust me, cloud biter."

Kieran frowned, "Wait, go to dinner just like this?"

She rolled her eyes, "This isn't Baron. A dinner is just a dinner. Now come on,"

He finally stopped resisting her pull and let her drag him from the safety of his room and into the dimly lit hallway beyond. After a few steps she released his arm and chuckled, "Just remember what I told you when you first got here and it will be fine."

"Only three rules, I think I can handle that," he muttered, not looking forward to the following meal. He purposely dragged his feet as they walked, hoping to stave off this dinner as long as possible.

Cuore smirked at his comment and was quick to retort. "I don't know…you seem to strive to break as many rules as possible. It's like you have a disorder."

He glanced at her in surprise and she ducked her head, expression sheepish. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by that,"

"No, don't be sorry." Kieran said quickly. "I knew you were sarcastic, but you rarely say things so freely. It's…"

He grappled to find the right word and finally shrugged, settling on, "It's…entertaining."

Cuore smiled shyly, eyes fixed ahead of her and refusing to look at him. It was annoying, but nothing new.

"Thank you for saying that, but I don't want you to get offended. I find that it is easier here, to speak without worry and to…"

She trailed off and he smiled halfway, offering; "To be yourself?"

Cuore paused in her steps to stare at him momentarily before gracing him with another smile, though she said nothing.

Kieran didn't really blame her for being guarded elsewhere in the world. Her status in the world was unstable, varying. To those who knew her, she held only the highest respect and affection. But to those who wouldn't or couldn't get to know her, she was feared, hated, and sadly, ignored.

The world was an unforgiving place, and Cuore had made mistakes in addition to her lineage. People had trouble looking past that, and in turn, she kept to herself.

They walked in silence for a few steps, and Kieran's thoughts rotated back to this dinner, making him cringe.

He sighed, "So…what exactly can I expect, here? With this dinner, I mean."

Cuore hummed and then shrugged largely, "Food, probably all the topics you aren't supposed to discuss, sarcastic comments…"

She smiled, "My parents like to have at least one day a week where we actually pretend to be a _normal_ family. We're all busy, but my mom especially goes stir crazy without family time…"

A guilty shadow crossed her eyes as she lowered her gaze, "I haven't been home recently, so I'm looking forward to this."

"Leo and Seren will be there too, right?" he asked, sure he already knew the answer.

She nodded, "And probably Izayoi…though she'll try to get out of it."

"I'm not going to end up dead, am I?" he asked, rising an eyebrow.

Cuore shrugged again, this time one shoulder as she reached for a set of door handles. "I don't think we poisoned the food any more than normal,"

Kieran frowned at her and she flashed him a grin, giving him no warning and yanking the door open.

Even before he stepped inside, he had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Epic rant time...**

**I'm baffled by the fact that the greatest crime in writing has become having a "Mary Sue / Gary Stu" character. You can write the biggest piece of nonsensical trash that murders grammar and has no point, but it's hailed as a masterpiece so long as your characters are "Acceptable". **

**There will always be stories out there where characters are annoying. Stories out there they you may not like. There's plenty that I don't read on bookshelves or online. I know I won't like them, so I avoid. I don't read, complain, and then send cowardly reviews or inane private messages or handwritten letters with gripes or e-mails with non-helpful advice to the authors complaining about their characters. I simply don't read them.**

**Believe my surprise when I also did a little research and noticed that the character traits for making a "Mary Sue" have twice as many listed then a "Gary Stu" Wow. Are we sexist even in this day in age? When diversity is crammed down our throats all the time? Is my character a problem a because she is a girl? Because I certainty haven't had any comments about a similar character that is a guy.**

**The point of my rant is this; I have enough stories on this site for everyone to be well aware of my writing style, my weaknesses, my strengths, my preferred characters, and my ideas. Don't bother me with pointless comments. Don't waste my time. You want to be helpful? Great. Send me useful advice and don't just tell me you didn't like it.**

**I don't conform to this world in real life to make people like me, what makes you think I'll conform my characters to make you like them?**

**epic rant over...**

**For anyone that might have offended, not my intension. I'm just tired of receiving "advice" or comments and having it be just someone's opinion without any comments of improvement beyond; "Your character is a Mary Sue" Maybe I don't care.**

**For those of you this didn't apply too, (And hopefully, no one who is annoyed by my stories is even reading this, since they don't like it,) I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Moonclaw out...**


	7. Mutuality

**After I just mentioned chapter length, here is a longer one...whoops...**

**Also, I'm not crazy about this chapter. I feel like it should be BETTER somehow, but all well...I hope you still all anjoy!**

**Warnings: Awkwardness. Such wonderful awkwardness...**

* * *

Kieran didn't even have a chance to take a deep breath before the doors were opened.

A loud call greeted them instantly; "Cu!"

Seren had bounded over in record time and flung herself at her older sister, latching onto her leg and giggling.

Cuore chuckled, "Well, hello Seren."

She was quick to notice that her sister wasn't alone and she promptly exclaimed, "Kern!"

Kieran couldn't help but greet her back, but he did wish she hadn't just made him the center of attention.

Leo shot him a glare from where he was already sitting. The boy may have been only eight years old, but he already had a death glare that could probably melt steel. It didn't help that he had already demonstrated he could summon Eidolons.

Cuore was too busy chatting with her sister to notice the look, and Kieran certainly wasn't going to say anything.

He was unfortunately the outsider here, and besides Cuore, who assured him he was welcome, he was pretty sure no one else wanted to acknowledge his presence.

After detaching her sister from her, Cuore glanced over her shoulder at him, grinning. "You can actually enter the room rather than stand in the doorway,"

He sighed under his breath, but did as she said.

Cuore gestured to the table haphazardly, commenting, "Sit, I'll be back."

She went to help her mother with something, leaving Kieran to awkwardly stand right where she'd left him.

He glanced around the room, noticing Izayoi was indeed there, sitting at the long table looking bored and finishing off a glass of wine. There was another glass, smaller and also filled with a darkish liquid, in front of her.

She hadn't bothered to look in his direction, and Kieran was oddly glad about that. Leo's glare was bad, hers was far worse.

Seren had gone over to her father and was animatedly telling him something, but they were too far away to hear.

Kieran let his gaze wander along with his thoughts, looking at the room but not really noticing anything about it. He hadn't actually had what qualified as a _family dinner_ in ages. It brought up less bitterness then he thought it might, making him feel slightly better about the situation.

Still, by no means was he pleased to be here.

Unlike elsewhere in the hallways, there were elaborate torches fastened to the walls, coiled with brass loops and looking surprisingly decorative. Also brightly colored floor to ceiling tapestries hang at equal intervals. He made note each showed a different creature threaded in gold, and he eyed the phoenix one a few times.

The table, chairs, sidebars and a cabinet on the far wall were all made of darkened reddish wood, looking heavy and somewhat out of place, considering.

"_Imports_," he thought absently, carefully making his way to the nearest empty chair. He was trying to move in such a way that no one would notice him.

Leo glared at him again from the seat next to him, and Kieran just frowned back. He didn't want to be here anymore then the boy wanted him to be.

He returned his attention to the room and looked past the lovely additions. Without them, the room was dreary blocks of gray stone.

Cuore walked by, stopped, and then shot a look at Leo. The boy gazed back innocently. His sister continued to frown at him for a moment before walking behind Kieran's chair to the other side, resting a hand on his shoulder.

She grinned, leaning down to speak quieter, "Relax. You look more stressed about this then you were when we fought that mutated Malbro."

"Oh, you know," he said conversationally, "at least I knew that monster wanted me dead. I'm still figuring all this out."

She laughed softly and then dropped a handful of silverware next to his plate. "Since yours," she flicked another look at her brother, "seem to have vanished."

Kieran hadn't noticed until she'd said something, and then made a face, "I just assumed chopsticks,"

Cuore giggled and smacked his shoulder, "Racist,"

"Ignorant." he countered.

If only the rest of this dinner would flow as easily as bickering with Cuore did, he would have nothing to worry about. But, he was quickly reminded that would not be the case when Cuore moved away, touching his shoulder again as she went.

Edge glared at him.

Kieran looked away, seething at Kain. "_You are so dead for this. I will find a way for serious payback…_"

There was the sound of glass clanking and Edge turned his attention to Izayoi who was pouring herself another glass of whatever it she was drinking.

"Save some for the rest of us," he chided.

She just shrugged.

Cuore wandered over and snatched the bottle out of her hand in one fluid motion.

"Hey!" Izayoi said, watching the teal haired teen walk away with it. Cuore wandered back to her mother, tossing over her shoulder, "Mom needs it,"

"I do?" Rydia asked, looking confused.

Cuore grinned, "I just figured we could saturate Izayoi's entire meal in it,"

The dark hair woman scowled at them, "Ha, ha,"

"Hilarious." Edge said, grinning.

Rydia sighed loudly, "Alright, now let's try to have a nice, civil meal, shall we? We have a guest, after all."

"Forget I'm here," Kieran said hastily, completely serious.

Leo snorted, Izayoi gave him a once over and Edge crossed his arms. "I wish we could,"

Kieran wasn't sure how to reply to that one, but luckily he was saved momentarily by food. Everyone got distracted with food.

However, that only lasted a few seconds once everyone was seated. Then he unfortunately became the center of attention again.

"What exactly is it that you do?" Izayoi asked, staring at him.

Kieran frowned, "I'm not really sure what you're asking,"

"Do you just follow Kain around or do you have tasks you're supposed to do? Are you done with training? Did you even do training? Do you laze about all day or do you guard?"

Cuore glared at her cousin, "Izayoi,"

The woman shrugged one shoulder, as if she saw nothing wrong with what she said or how she phrased it. "Yes, what do you do?" Edge chimed in, glancing at him.

Cuore shifted her unhappy scowl to him, "_Dad,_"

Her voice was a warning tone and Rydia backed her up, "You two, stop bugging Kieran. He's our guest."

"I'm not being rude," Edge defended himself. "I am genuinely curious what it is that he does all day."

Rydia sighed, both her and Cuore sending the king an annoyed look before she turned to Kieran, "Sorry, but…welcome."

"Still want to know what you do," Edge sang quietly, starting to eat.

Kieran shrugged largely, "I don't know; what do you do all day?"

Cuore giggled across the table, and Rydia shook her head with a smile, "I can see how this dinner is going to go…"

She had mumbled her comment, but it was just loud enough that they could all hear her.

Edge frowned at him, "I do kingly things."

"Cool. I do Kain's apprenticey things." Kieran replied.

Edge blinked at him, and Kieran couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not by the lack of an answer on his part. He was trying not to be sarcastic or rude, but it was proving difficult. He did not adapt well to social situations, and this was one he wished to get over with as soon as possible.

He felt like everyone at this table, except perhaps Cuore, wanted him dead.

Kieran saw a cooked carrot roll onto his plate and frowned, looking over to watch Leo flick another one from his plate, to Kieran's.

He glared at him and Leo just moved a third without a word.

"Do you get paid?"

Jolted by the abrupt and odd question, he gave up trying to figure out why Leo was ditching food on him and looked up to give Edge a weird look. "Do I get paid?"

"Yes, do you get paid?" he asked patiently.

Kieran blinked, "Um…yes?"

"How much?"

"Dad!" Cuore exclaimed, shooting him a glare.

Rydia sighed again.

Edge ignored them both, "I'm curious what you get paid for and how much whatever it is you do is worth to Baron."

"I can't give you an exact amount, the rates between our country's currencies is different." Kieran replied with a slight shrug.

Edge frowned at him, "Cop out,"

"Tactical avoidance," Kieran countered, grinning slightly. He heard Cuore snicker from the other side of the table, even as Izayoi spoke up.

"Ignore him," she commented airily. "He's just trying to get out of paying me."

Edge shifted his frown to his cousin, "I'm just trying to make sure I'm not _over_ paying you,"

"You couldn't ever pay me enough to put up with everything I do," she retorted, rising an eyebrow.

Rydia rolled her eyes and sighed, "So much for normal conversations,"

"Talking about money is a normal conversation," her husband complained. "Whoever decided it wasn't clearly was rich and never had to worry about money."

The green haired summoner smirked, "Says the guy who avoids budget meetings,"

Izayoi chuckled, "Oh, good one…"

Cuore snickered again as Kieran glanced between each family member, not quite sure what to make of this dinner so far. Movement to his right caught his eye as Leo slid another carrot onto his plate.

He glared at the boy, but Leo just defiantly stared back, as if daring him to say anything. Kieran was both annoyed and impressed.

He was distracted when he realized they had moved on to another topic. Unfortunately, it was one he would have liked to avoid, despite a question being directed at him.

"So," Edge said in a suspiciously conversational tone of voice. "Have any scars?"

Kieran just stared at him, "What?"

Rydia sighed, drawing their attention. She pinned her husband with a look, "Edge,"

"What?!" he said defensively, "It's a good conversation starter! Everyone has a scar, and usually it has some really good story to go with it."

Izayoi grinned, setting down her empty glass, "Oh, like that one you have from falling down the stairs when you were five?"

"Or the one from that time on the moon when the crystalline bridge collapsed on you after Cecil told you it didn't look stable?" Rydia seconded.

He glared at them both, "Stop ganging up on me,"

"I figured since you brought it up it meant you wanted to talk about yourself," Rydia replied, feigning innocence.

Izayoi chuckled, pouring more brownish liquid into her glass, "It _is_ his favorite topic."

Edge shot them both another frown and then returned his attention to Kieran, who was hoping he would give up trying to make small talk.

"Well?" the king prompted.

He shifted uncomfortably, averting his gaze, "I…"

"Even if you don't have a good story to go with them, girls like scars."

Rydia scoffed and rolled her eyes and he glanced at her, "It's true!"

"Oh please…" she muttered, glancing over to check on Seren.

Kieran could tell he was not going to get out of this conversation, and so braced himself for another question to be shot his way. Luckily, Cuore spoke up and drew attention to herself.

"Dad, I'm almost positive scars are not what helped you get with mom," she said. "Clearly, that was my doing."

It was his turn to scoff, "Oh, whatever Cuore…"

She grinned, "Admit it, you owe me."

"I do not!" Edge argued, "You ended up with a pretty good deal out of this whole thing, I'll have you know."

She raised an eyebrow, and Izayoi jumped into the conversation, "And, excuse me, I had a hand in the meddling too I might add."

"Ugh, let me guess. You want a raise." Edge deadpanned.

Cuore glanced between them both and her expression became devious. It was the same look she got on her face when she knew she had just won a duel. He knew because he'd seen it up close and personal once before.

"Izayoi, if dad won't pay you to travel halfway across the world, then he'll never pay you for anything else,"

Rydia looked up sharply from helping Seren cut her food and glared at her daughter. "Cuore,"

Cuore grinned, sinking down in her chair.

"Ah yes, the _ferry lane_," Edge said, leaning back in his chair and pinning his cousin with a look. "How _is_ that going?"

Izayoi frowned, downing another glass of wine. "I don't want to talk about it,"

They began to bicker while Rydia just sighed, obviously fed up. Leo even rolled his eyes, muttering something about airships being stupid under his breath.

Kieran caught Cuore's eye and mouthed "Thank you". She graced him with one of her true smiles and a slight incline of her head. It proved she had diverted the conversation on purpose. He was grateful, but also annoyed. He shouldn't need her to protect him, he should be able to handle himself in a simple social situation.

Seren piped up, "When I grow up, I want to have an airship!"

"Why?" Leo said, wrinkling his nose. "They're not that cool."

Kieran frowned at him, "Like cooked carrots?"

The boy glared at him, spitefully pushing another off his plate and onto Kieran's.

Obviously, Leo held nasty grudges.

"Because," Seren answered, watching her mother cut the food on her plate. "If I have an airship, then I can go anywhere I want too!"

"Not if your auntie-cousin Izzy can't get this agreement signed!" Edge commented with false cheerfulness.

His cousin slammed _another_ empty glass down, "Do not call me that and stop nagging about this stupid agreement! What do you want from me?"

"Miracles." he deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes.

Rydia sighed, "Can we _please_ talk about something else?"

"We could always make fun of Kain," Kieran said. "That always brightens up people's moods."

Everyone turned to look at him and he glanced up from poking at his food, "…I said that louder then I meant too,"

Cuore giggled, using a hand to stifle the sound somewhat.

Rydia was smiling, but she nevertheless scolded them, "We do enough of that, too. What about a _normal_ topic?"

"We're not normal people," Edge countered, shrugging. "But, alright, fine; you start a conversation."

She frowned but rose to the challenge, shifting in her seat and smoothing the tablecloth with her hands. She looked as though she was trying to mellow the entire dinner down.

"Well, it may not be a happy topic, but Porom was telling me the latest drama with the Magicite in Mysidia."

Kieran perked up, sneaking a quick glance in Cuore's direction. If she cared, she didn't show it, too busy eating to show any interest in the conversation.

He listened with half an ear and finally began to eat the food in front of him. He wasn't really sure what to expect, but it was good, even if he couldn't fully enjoy it because he was still tense from the circumstances.

"Apparently there was a movement in the boards of each magical division to have the Elder step down. It turned into a protest for half a day." the summoner said. "Porom seemed to think it was the Magicite's doing."

"He's so old he's probably going to croak soon," Edge commented, sounding confused. "Why bother protesting?"

Rydia shook her head, "True, but before he does die, he will chose someone to replace him. I think, and Porom agrees, that the push to do that now is because the Magicite wants someone they know in charge."

Cuore frowned, but said nothing. Kieran narrowed his eyes at her, curious of her thoughts on the matter.

"The way Mysidia runs their country makes no sense to me," Izayoi complained. "I thought the twins were in charge already,"

Rydia leaned forward, obviously ready to explain. "No, not completely. See, Mysidia has no formal leadership or hierarchy; they are governed by magical councils for each magical division, which in turn elects a member to be their voice, so to speak. The heads meet together and decide on a range of topics. Mysidia is primarily a teaching city, after all."

Cuore finished out her thought, voice flat as if reciting a text book. "Each leader of the branch or board of each magical division hence votes for a new Elder to oversee them as a whole."

Izayoi groaned and rolled her eyes, "Too confusing. Can't they just duel for it or something?"

"The dark ages wrote a letter, they want their way of choosing rulers back." Leo said sarcastically.

Edge snickered, "Finally paying attention to history?"

"It's still boring." The boy said sullenly, shaking his head. "I really don't care what some person did five hundred years ago that change whatever today…"

"History can teach us things," Rydia encouraged.

Izayoi nodded, "Yes, like killing people with poison is way better than an outright duel."

"Did you slip something in my food again?" Edge asked her.

She shrugged, "Poison is my specialty."

Rydia closed her eyes, "Anyway, back to what I was saying about the Magicite…"

Cuore smiled apologetically at her mother.

Kieran wasn't sure what to think about Mysidia's current state of disorder. Baron had their own troubles with them.

He didn't hear the last comment she made before the queen glanced at him. He shifted, anxious at being noticed again. This dinner would be so much easier if he could be invisible.

"What do you think? Hasn't Baron gotten involved on occasion with the Magicite?" Rydia asked. She sounded genuinely interested, but he wasn't feeling up to explaining their complicated ties with Mysidia, especially where the Magicite was concerned.

Instead, he fell back onto his default attitude of cynicism. "I think it was a great _normal_ topic," Kieran said. "Terrorism."

Izayoi chuckled lowly, busy polishing off another drink. Rydia frowned at him, but she didn't seem all that mad. "I said it wasn't happy…"

Kieran noticed Edge was giving him a strange look and scowled, "What?"

"How in the world do you get along with Ceodore?" the king asked, sounding baffled.

Cuore grinned, "Who says they get along?"

"Hey," Kieran said, holding up his hands defensively, "Ceodore and I have an understanding. I understand he is boring and he understands that I'm that friend your parents warn you about."

Izayoi looked over, swallowing a bite of food before commenting, "Oh, so Rosa doesn't like you either?"

"Not…so much," Kieran answered diplomatically.

Edge shrugged, "I think that's true of everyone at this table,"

"Hey," Rydia, Cuore and Leo objected. Seren was too young and fascinated by her food to chime in.

He held up his hands, "Okay, fine, it's just Izzy, Kieran and I, then. But she holds grudges,"

"True story," Kieran muttered, crossing his arms.

Rydia sighed, "Could we please stop talking about our friends,"

"I'm sure they talk about us," Izayoi pointed out, gesturing to the green haired summoner with her chopsticks, "It's what people do; gossip about their friends."

"I'd like to think Cecil and Rosa have more important things to talk about," Rydia insisted.

Edge shook his head, "They don't."

"Unless they're busy talking about Kieran's bad influence on their son," Cuore mentioned, eyes on her plate and a teasing little smirk on her face.

He frowned, "Don't bring me into this,"

"Do they?" Edge asked, turning to face him.

Kieran blinked, "Do they what?"

"Talk about us?" he clarified.

Kieran just stared flatly at him, "You think I get invited to Harvey family dinners? I'm the _bad_ friend, remember?"

Cuore glanced up, "You've never been to dinner?"

"With Ceodore's parents?" he said, surprised she would even ask. "Of course not. And from what Kain says, I don't want too. He's always bored out of his mind."

His reply seemed to trouble Cuore; the way her eyes searched the tabletop was a sign of her uneasy and confusion. After knowing her for so long, he could spot her tells.

Rydia cleared her throat, managing to make the sound less conspicuous then it should have. "I'm sure Rosa likes you more than you think," the queen said, offering him a smile. "She just likes to worry. It's her way."

Kieran decided against arguing with Rydia. No reason to cause a bad impression or repeat things Rosa had commented on.

He glanced down and noticed even more carrots had mysteriously appeared on his plate and shot another glare at Leo. The boy resolutely ignored him, focusing instead on the rest of his dinner.

The boy had a nasty streak in him that Kieran hadn't noticed before. He was half tempted to plot some sort of revenge.

"So," Izayoi said, resting her elbows on the table and eyeing Cuore, "I heard something strange the other day,"

Cuore gave her cousin her full attention once she realized the comment was directed at her.

"I heard you sang your friends a song,"

Cuore's eyes widened and her expression became panicked, though it quickly shifted to annoyance. "Where did you hear that?"

Izayoi grinned, "Around. Is it true?"

"I told everyone not to tell!" Cuore hissed.

Rydia smiled slowly, "Cuore, I didn't know you were still singing. I thought you decided not to."

The teal haired young woman ducked her head, "Well, I…haven't really been practicing, but…I guess every so often I still do…"

"You should more often," Edge said, giving her a weird look. "You are pretty good. Way better than Izayoi."

"Edge, shut up."

"Make me."

Rydia ignored them and continued her conversation with her daughter, "Cuore, why are you so shy about this? You have a lovely voice."

Cuore shifted in her seat, "I…"

Kieran could sense Cuore's desire to dodge the question, and he decided to repay her earlier distraction with one of his own. He hated to make himself the center of attention, but it was for a good cause.

"I'm more curious who told on you," he said causally. "I'm pretty sure you threatened Tsukinowa to keep quiet."

Izayoi chuckled, "Since when can he keep his mouth shut?"

"Was it him?" Cuore asked, frowning.

"My lips are sealed," her cousin waved a hand to dismiss the conversation. She raised her glass to her lips for another sip, making Kieran wonder just how much she'd had to drink.

Kieran continued, knowing he needed to swing the conversation a little further away from her to fully clear her from the spotlight. "Could have been Ceodore. He always talks too much."

"Ceodore?" Rydia said, looking surprised.

Kieran grinned, "Are you kidding? He gossips like an old lady. But don't tell him that, because then he gets upset because he really isn't intending to gossip, he just does."

"I would not have guessed that," Rydia mumbled, still sounding surprised.

"Ceodore has everyone fooled," Kieran stated ominously.

Truthfully, he wasn't sure how or why they were friends, but he also did appreciate their acquaintance and wouldn't alter it in the slightest. No matter how opposite they were, or how much they bickered, he trusted Ceodore.

Leo perked up, "Oh, hey, that reminds me…Pamela was telling me she is already in the second level of training. Is that true?"

Rydia frowned, "I'm not sure. Porom did mention that she was doing well in her studies, though."

Seren grinned, "Bud wants to start magic classes. He says he's going to be a white mage, too."

Rydia chuckled, "Yes…Palom had words about that."

"Poor guy," Edge commented, shaking his head. "I just hope they don't have _another_ child."

"Save us," Izayoi muttered into her glass.

Cuore frowned, "What's wrong with three kids?"

"Yeah," Kieran added, also frowning.

Rydia grinned, but said nothing. Edge just gestured vaguely with a hand, "Well, not everyone can have awesome kids."

Seren beamed, "We're special!"

"Obviously," Leo agreed.

Finally the conversation had turned into more normal topics, and mostly because the children had grounded everything. Kieran enjoyed the brief interlude from the interrogation he was being put through to actually enjoy the food he'd been given. He refused to eat the extra carrots out of spite, however.

When he glanced up he noticed Cuore giving him a funny look. She smiled and mouthed a "Thank you" to him. Her expression was grateful and amused and he nodded, shooting her a half smile in return. He felt proud of himself for such a small deed, but if it made Cuore happy, then he supposed it was worth feeling accomplished over.

Another carrot plopped onto his plate.

"Leo, if you don't think I see what you're doing, you're wrong," Rydia scolded, pursing her lips at her son.

The boy sank slightly in his seat sullenly, eyes downcast.

Kieran was trying not to grin or feel triumph, but it was hard considering.

Seren giggled, "Silly Leo!"

He glared at her.

Rydia was still staring at him, "I'm sure if you're so willing to share your food, you won't mind sharing the things you actually like to eat, either."

Leo frowned, poking at the rest of the food on his plate. He looked both annoyed at being caught and chastised for his wrongdoing. Kieran suspected he wasn't all that sorry, though.

Rydia offered a slight smile, "I'm sorry,"

"Oh," Kieran said, feigning cheerfulness, "I'm sure Leo was just being nice." He scraped the carrots, including his own, off his plate and onto Leo's nearly empty one in a loud, deliberately slow motion.

Leo glared at him once more.

Cuore was clearly hiding her amusement by taking a long drink of water. Leo begrudgingly began to eat his carrots.

"You managed to go awhile before mom noticed," Edge commented.

Rydia started, "What? You saw him?"

Her husband winced at her annoyance, "I was waiting to see how long he could get away with it before you noticed!"

"Not long enough," Leo grumbled.

"Edge,"

"I would have talked to him later about it,"

She rolled her eyes, "I just don't want you to turn dinners into trainings."

Leo sulked, "Neither of you noticed Seren isn't eating hers,"

Everyone looked at the little girl's plate, empty of bright orange carrots, and she pouted at her brother, "Leo, why'd you tell?"

Leo nodded towards his sister, "She's been hiding them in her napkin when you aren't looking."

"_Leo_," the little girl whined.

Rydia sighed, "Seren, you like carrots fine!"

"Nope."

Her mother frowned, "Since when?"

Seren shrugged, looking upset. Leo sighed at his own plate. Kieran glanced between the two siblings and frowned. He didn't want to interfere, or overstep his bounds, but he also knew a little bit about siblings.

"Leo," he said quietly. The boy glared up at him, stabbing a carrot sharply with his fork. "What?"

"You know, Seren is only deciding she doesn't like carrots because you don't like them," Kieran pointed out. "She adores you and Cuore. She wants to be just like you."

"So what?" Leo replied.

Kieran shrugged, reaching over to take one of the offending vegetables for himself, "So, you should be a good brother and set a good example."

Leo gave him a contemptuous once over, "What do you know?"

"I know what it's like to have a little sister who follows you around," he said, "And an older sibling who is better at everything then you are."

Leo dropped his gaze and Kieran continued, "And I know that it's the most annoying thing in the world, but also the most amazing thing in the world. You'd be sad if you didn't have them."

Leo said nothing, but he also didn't glare at him again, and so Kieran assumed it was a victory and ate the carrot he'd been holding on his fork.

After a moment, the boy looked back up and spoke again, directing his words to his sister who was still moping.

"Seren, they aren't that bad," he said, taking a bite. He grimaced and Seren finally broke back into a smile, giggling. "And I guess their good for you…"

Seren beamed at him and nibbled on her own dinner.

From there, the dinner slowed down, and thankfully Kieran managed to avoid most of the attention. The family chatted about a few things, Leo and Seren had apparently made up, and finally everyone just decided it was over.

Edge and Izayoi were in the middle of an intense discussion over some event in their past, determined that one of them was remembering it incorrectly. Rydia wisely stayed out of it and merely began to pick everything up, rolling her eyes at them.

"Seren, come on! We'll go check on my chocobo egg before bed," Leo said, dashing for the door.

The little girl wriggled her way out of her chair, "Leo, wait for me!" She stumbled slightly when her feet hit the floor and proceeded to zip at speeds that shouldn't be possible for a child her age and size. She grabbed her mother's leg for a quick hug, nearly tripping the green haired woman in the process. Then she ran to her father and Izayoi, gave them both similar hugs and then booked to the door. At the threshold she stopped and smiled, "Goodnight Cu and Kern!"

Cuore offered a wave but the girl was already gone. She shook her head, "Incomprehensible that one offspring contains infinite energy and the other does not…"

Rydia shrugged, balancing plates in both hands, "Some things just can't be explained,"

Cuore grinned and moved to help her, but her mother shooed her away. "No, no, if I need help, I think your father owes me."

Cuore glanced over at them and then back to her mother, "Are you sure? They're pretty far gone,"

"I'm sure, have a good evening," Rydia assured her.

Cuore shrugged and hopped around one of the chairs, finally rescuing Kieran when she waved him with her from the room.

"Come on," she said, pushing the doors open, "I'll show you how to get back to your room from here,"

"I don't think that's typically the girl's job," he pointed out.

She laughed and spun around once, "It is when the girl's castle is the one that's laid out crazily."

Kieran just sighed in relief that the evening was over, the meal successful, and he was one day closer to going home.

* * *

Kieran was lost.

He could have sworn he'd backtracked from the dead end hallway he'd found himself in, but now he was standing at a passage he'd never seen before.

The problem was all the hallways looked the same, so he kept his eyes open for details, like which wall-hanging or candle stick was where. But even with those particulars, he was still horribly lost.

Not only that, but he got the feeling he was being watched, and it was making him jumpy. He had figured that someone was likely following him during his stay here; he'd heard stories about this place, after all.

But the fact that he could tell was what bothered him.

He kept glancing over his shoulder only to find nothing there.

With another sigh he turned and headed to the left, wondering if he could track down someone to help him navigate. It would be embarrassing to ask, but he wasn't above admitting his defeat at the hands of their annoying castle.

As he continued along his course, he felt that odd feeling of being followed return and shifted his gaze ever so slightly over his shoulder, seeing a flash of movement and frowning.

Whoever it was needed to work on their skills.

But then he heard a giggle, and he stopped and rolled his eyes. Putting his hands on his hips, he spoke up to the seemingly empty space; "Hmm…now why is it I feel like someone is following me?"

Another giggle.

He glanced over his shoulder, "Maybe a little princess?"

Seren poked her head out from behind one of the rivets in the wall, a wide grin on her lips. "Hi Kern! How'd you know I was watching you?"

"Well, I heard a giggle," he replied, turning around to face her.

She bounced on her toes, "Oh, I should be more quiet, huh?"

"Probably, but you're still pretty good at tracking," he said.

Seren left her hiding spot and wandered over to him, looking bright eyed. "Do you think so? Everyone else in my family is so good at it…"

Kieran knelt down so he could at eye level with her, "I do think so. You keep practicing and you'll be as good as them in no time."

She beamed at him and tugged on her skirt, "Do you like my dress? It's new."

The purple fabric was ruffled a little at the hem, and he noted her bare feet, having to grin to himself. "You look very pretty, Seren. Where are your shoes?"

She giggled, "Cuore never wears shoes."

"I've noticed that," he commented.

Seren blinked at him and then looked around, "Where are you going?"

"Now, that is a very good question." Kieran said, following her gaze around the hallway. "I think I may be lost."

Her eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yes, really. Where are you going?" Kieran asked.

Seren shrugged, "I dunno. Leo is busy, Cuore is busy, mom is busy, daddy is busy…I'm so bored! Can I play with you?"

He hesitated, but then decided at least she seemed to know where things were in the castle.

Seren noticed his hesitation and pouted, "Please? Just for a little while?"

He had to smile at her and nodded, "Well, I guess so."

"Great!" she reached out and pulled on his arm, "Come on! I'll show you my rose bush. Mom is teaching me to take care of it. It's really small right now, but the flowers on it are pink."

Kieran didn't even get half a sentence out before she was attempting to drag him with her. He just sighed and let her lead him through a series of turns and through a few doors. They neared a corridor he recognized, but then moved past it, stepping into a smaller room that lead outside to a garden. Seren let go of his hand to push the heavy looking door open.

Birds were singing and he squinted at the bright sunlight. He hadn't noticed how dark the castle was in certain parts, but out in the noonday sun, the contrast was sharp.

"Come on!" Seren said, grabbing his hand again and pattering into the garden. She chattered about the flowers and how they were growing, what color of flowers they made and which ones Izayoi was supposedly allergic too.

He stifled a laugh at that fact.

"Sometimes these really pretty birds come out here and eat. They are shy, but Cuore likes to watch them. She says they are rare, and that they are…um…something that starts with an 'M'…and that they stay together for their whole lives!"

He was busy trying to figure out what a strange looking, tall and leafy plant was but glanced at her as she poked at an earthworm. "Cuore gardens?"

"Uh huh," Seren said, picking the worm up and letting it crawl in her hand. "She's pretty good at it, just like mom."

"Why am I not surprised…" Kieran mumbled, sitting on a nearby bench.

Seren apparently grew bored with the worm and put it back where she'd found it, clapping her hands together to get rid of excess dirt, "Leo thinks gardening is stupid, but I think he'd be good at it, too."

"I thought you were going to show me your roses?" he said, grinning at her.

She brightened, "Oh yeah!" she stood up and pointed to the far end of the flowerbed, "They are right there!"

A tiny, thorny and somewhat spindly bush was sitting in an empty spot, surrounded by fresh dirt. There were a few buds on it, and one was partway open, revealing the pink petals Seren had mentioned.

"You know, that is going to grow just like you. You might end up being the same size," Kieran told her.

She nodded happily, "That's what dad said!"

Kieran rested his chin on his hand, "You really like your family, don't you?"

Seren nodded, "Yup! They're the best. I love them."

Kieran let his gaze wander back to the rose bush, which made him wonder if their house hadn't of burned down, how large would his mother's roses and lilacs be? They hadn't had a huge yard space living in the city, but there had been some space, and he remembered the flowers planted close to the house, near the kitchen window.

He frowned at himself for letting such an unfamiliar place drag him back to familiar memories. Part of him never wanted to forget, but at the same time, it was more painful to remember.

Seren was staring at him so he blinked at her, not sure if there was a reason she seemed so intent and feeling badly for spacing out.

"What about your family?" Seren asked suddenly, brightly.

Kieran looked away, not quite sure how to phrase himself without crushing the little girl's dreams and ideals. It wasn't something he really wanted to discuss with a two year old.

His silence seemed to be enough, for the girl was intelligent, and as she continued to stare, she whispered, "Did they die?"

He glanced at her in surprise and she looked sad, dropping her eyes. Children only knew about death at her age if they'd been around it, and he briefly wondered at that before she continued quietly.

"Some of the koi fish died in our pond. Daddy said so."

He offered her a sad smile, "Yeah, they died."

He wasn't expecting Seren to hop forward and fling her arms around him, mumbling into his neck, "I'm sorry…"

She tilted her head to look at him. "Do you miss them?"

"Yes,"

She scrunched her face up as if thinking, and then nodded after a moment. "I'd miss my family, too…" The little girl tightened her arms, "I'm sorry, Kern."

He had to grin at the name and hesitantly patted her back with one hand. She was remarkably empathetic for a small child.

"Thanks." he mumbled.

Seren peeked at him again, "Does that means you need a new family? You could stay with us forever."

Kieran stifled a chuckle and smiled at her, "Somehow, I don't think that would work."

Seren looked confused, "Why? I'd let you stay."

"Thanks, Seren." he said. He was just going to let that one slide.

She brightened, bouncing on her feet and releasing him, "Oh! You could make me an airship if you stayed!"

Now he did chuckle, "Oh? What would you want?"

Seren paused, looking thoughtful and clasping her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels. "I'd want…an airship that is…fast, and pretty, and powerful, and special; just like me!"

Kieran grinned at her, "Oh really? Where would you fly it?"

"Everywhere!" she exclaimed, smiling broadly. "I'd take it all over the world, and I'd find treasures, and go on adventures…"

She threw her arms open wide, "No one could tell me what to do, and I _guess _I'd let Bud come, if he wanted too. We'd have so much fun, and I'd get to fly!"

She dropped her arms to her side and tipped her head to gaze at him quizzically, imitating her sister. "So? Will you make me one?"

"Well, you're a little young to be able to fly one," he replied.

Seren paused to think about it. "Then…when I'm older?"

Kieran grinned again, "Maybe, we'll have to see. But Seren, why do you think I can make you an airship?"

Her expression turned devious, and she began to rock back and forth on her feet, looking very demure. He frowned, wondering if she, too, had a nasty streak like her brother.

She pointed at him, "You have a notebook. I saw you drawing in that when I was watching you."

He stared at her, a little disturbed she'd been apparently watching him that much that she noticed such a thing.

Seren blinked, "Do you make airships back home?"

"No," he replied with a shake of his head.

She seemed thoughtful and plopped down beside him, "What's your home like? I've never been away from my home."

"Baron?" Kieran said, pausing to think. "Well, it's big, and it's nosier then here."

Seren kicked her feet up, "Do you have gardens?"

"Yes, but we don't have the same flowers." he answered.

She nodded and looked around, as if taking in all of the flowers around them. Most of them had just started to bloom, and even the trees seemed a little late in flowering this season.

Kieran sighed and made note the sky looked about ready to rain. He was about to mention his observation to the little girl and suggest they go inside, but a voice called her name through the garden pathways.

Seren perked up, "That's mom."

Sure enough, the green haired summoner rounded the corner, brow furrowed as she scanned the gardens, one hand clutching at her skirt.

"Seren," her mother said, looking relieved, "There you are! I've been looking all over for you."

The little girl grinned, "I was following Kern!"

Rydia shot him an apologetic smile, "I see,"

She bent down to ruffle her daughter's hair, mentioning softly, "I hope you weren't bothering him,"

"She was fine." Kieran assured the queen, dismissing her worry. "She was just keeping me company."

Seren smiled at him and then tugged on her mother's dress to gain her attention. "Mommy, Kern doesn't have a family, can he stay with us? Can we keep him?"

Rydia's expression was a mixture of embarrassment and amusement, and she looked between the little girl and Kieran before laughing in a halting fashion. "Sweetie, I'm sure he would miss his home, and everyone back there would miss him, too."

Seren frowned, "But, here is better, right?"

"Not if someone else has another home," he mother explained.

The girl sighed, seemingly disappointed that she was unable to have her way. Kieran couldn't help but feel entertained by the conversation, but he chose to remain quiet on the topic.

"Now, it looks like rain, and Leo is about to get out of his history class. Why don't you go inside and meet him?" Rydia suggested, gesturing back the way she'd come. "I'm sure he'd be delighted."

Seren nodded, "Okay! Maybe we can go visit his chocobo egg,"

She skipped down the path only to skid to a halt and turn around, waving broadly at Kieran before hurrying onward.

Rydia sighed and offered him another smile, "I'm sorry if she was bothering you. Seren is very…social."

Kieran shrugged, "She was fine. No worries."

There was an awkward pause, and Kieran tried not to fidget as her felt Rydia study him. There were times when he caught glimpses of the connection between Cuore and her, and this was one of those times. It was like she was looking for something but couldn't find it.

Finally the summoner looked away, crossing her arms as if cold, "You know, Cuore speaks very highly of you."

He blinked at her, "Does she,"

He was trying not to feel skeptical at that comment.

Rydia nodded, "Yes, she does."

Another awkward pause.

The queen smiled, "You don't seem to be very comfortable here."

It was a statement, not a question, and he felt a flash of guilt. Kieran sighed and averted his gaze, "I'm sorry, I just suspect that you will all be happier once I'm out of your hair."

"Not Seren," Rydia pointed out, chuckling. "She seems to want to 'keep' you, as the case may be."

"Seren is also two, I'm talking about everyone else," he retorted, not unkindly.

She shook her head, "Kieran, we're not so revolted by your presence here. It's a refreshing change of pace, and it's rare we have visitors for long periods of time."

He still felt reluctant to believe her, but she continued, glancing up at the storm clouds as she did so. "You know, you actually fit in better here than you think."

"I doubt that," Kieran said, beginning to grow impatient. The conversation was starting to annoy him. He felt like Rydia was purposely patronizing him, or perhaps trying too hard to make him feel at ease. He didn't want to feel at ease. He wanted to get out of here before he went mad.

He didn't belong here, that much was obvious.

Kieran sighed, "Look, thanks but I've got to be honest and disagree with you. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that your letting me stay here, but I know everyone would rather I wasn't."

Rydia raised an eyebrow, another Cuore-like expression, but he continued, knowing somewhere in his mind he should stop before he said something he would regret.

"I was, and still can be, a jerk, and I was cruel to Cuore. She's been remarkably nice in accepting my apology but being here is…prickly. I, and probably you as well, will be glad to have me gone."

The queen frowned, "Basically you're telling me you think we hate you,"

"Don't you?" he demanded.

She laughed, "We have better things to do then worry about you, honestly. I don't hate you, though I am glad you and Cuore seem to have settled your differences. Cuore could use more friends like you."

Her compliment caught him off guard and she grinned, noticing his hesitation.

"Come and have tea with me," Rydia said, waving him forward as she began to walk down the path Seren had gone a few moments earlier.

Kieran frowned, "I get the sense that wasn't a request,"

She just cast him another grin, continuing to walk away. He sighed and followed, wondering how much trouble this tea date was going to get him into.

They wove through the gardens, and just as the entrance to the castle came into view, raindrops pattered down, causing a light song to be heard as they bounced off stone and plants alike.

Rydia fluffed her hair once they were safely inside, commenting conversationally; "What kind of tea do you like?"

"Would it be rude to say they all taste the same?" Kieran ventured.

She laughed, "Zangestu would say you haven't had good tea, then."

"Well, then let's say I'm not picky," he suggested, shrugging. Rydia chuckled again and led him onward, apparently assuming he would follow.

They didn't go far; he was surprised when they turned a corner and entered a small room with windows looking out at the gardens they had come from. Rydia spoke as if to answer his unasked curiosity.

"This room used to be an armory. When I expended the gardens this far, I told the Eblan Four to move their stuff out of here since it was just storage anyway. I had the windows put in just before Seren was born."

Kieran peered out the window, locating the exact spot he had been sitting a moment ago. The rain had already caused a puddle to form.

There were some clanks from behind him as Rydia continued, "This room has its drawbacks, though. It's made of thick stone, so in the middle of the day in summertime it's unbearably hot, and in winter, much too cold. Still, I like to sit in here sometimes."

Kieran nodded towards the door, "With an impressive padlock to go with the garden view,"

Rydia smirked, "Mommy needs time alone sometimes,"

"Ah."

She waved a hand at him, "Sit, you make me nervous with how you always just stand around."

"Sorry," he complained, doing as she said. "I'm used to just hanging around being invisible."

She rolled her eyes and sat herself, handing him a teacup filled with something that smelled like all tea to him. He really couldn't tell the difference.

"Tell me if I'm bringing up something you don't want to talk about," the queen said, eyeing him. "But what did happen to your family?"

He blinked in surprise. He was so used to everyone he interacted with already knowing that he forgot it wasn't common knowledge. It was easier than it had been to talk about it, but he still averted his gaze, hands enclosed around his teacup.

"They died in the Maenad attack on Baron."

Rydia nodded, "I had suspected, but I couldn't be sure."

"I'm surprised Cuore didn't tell you," he mumbled.

She shook her head, a slow smile coming to her lips, "Cuore doesn't tell other people's stories. In fact, she barely tells her own."

He nodded absently. Rydia frowned, looking concerned, "You know, what you said out there, about being cruel to Cuore?"

"Yeah?" Kieran asked worriedly.

She took a sip of tea, eyes looking at the garden, though it was clear she was lost in memories. "You were the first person to ever make her cry. She'd been on this planet two years and only cried from nightmares, never when she was fully awake."

He winced.

Rydia shifted her eyes back to him, taking her time drinking her tea. He wondered if she was making him squirm on purpose.

"Still, I saw you two at her birthday party."

Kieran made a face, "What?"

Rydia chuckled, shaking her head and returning her attention to her drink. He frowned, but decided not to push his luck and took a sip of his own tea. It was good, but he still wasn't sure if he could ever tell the difference.

The rain began to downpour, and they both looked out at the garden as it got pounded by droplets.

"I am sorry," he muttered. "I was…angry back then. Not really _at _Cuore, I always knew it wasn't her fault, but…well…"

He closed his eyes, "Cuore has been nice to be so forgiving about the whole thing. I know it hasn't been easy for her, either. I…appreciate her friendship."

"And she says the same about you," Rydia said.

Kieran looked back to her in surprise and the queen shrugged, "Cuore has always had a hard time adjusting, but as terrible as you were to her, I can't overlook how helpful you've been."

"Helpful?" he repeated skeptically.

She nodded, "You helped save the world from what was left of Zeromus. You brought Cuore back from Ordeals. You helped find my son."

He shifted uncomfortably, wondering why it sounded so different to string all those things together. And why, then, did his record back home look so _dismal_ in comparison.

Rydia leaned forward, "I'm only bringing this up because I don't want you to think that we hate you here."

"Well, Cuore and Seren seem to have come around," Kieran commented sarcastically, "you seem indifferent. I'm more worried about Edge, Izayoi and Leo. I keep thinking I'm going to end up with a knife in my back."

"Izayoi would poison you before she stabs you, Leo's not quite up for murder at his age and Edge likes to be swift about killing. I'd doubt you'd even notice, you'd just be dead."

He eyed her, not sure if she was kidding or not. Her voice tone had been even and serious, and her facial expression gave nothing away either.

Finally she smirked, raising her cup to her lips again, "I was joking. You seem to think my children inherited all their sarcasm from Edge…"

He relaxed slightly, feeling at ease enough to be a little snarky himself; "And you?"

"Bahamut is only a few words away." she replied without missing a beat.

Rydia offered him a sassy smile and held up the teapot, "More tea?"

Making a face, he accepted her offer, commenting, "If I can be bold, here…what are we doing? I'm not stupid…you wanted to talk to me about something, not have tea."

Rydia sighed, "So much for small talk, eh?"

"What's the point?" he countered.

She frowned, "I did actually want to talk to you. About nothing in particular. Cuore rarely talks about her friends, but when she does, it's always good things. Ceodore and Ursula I know well, you I don't. I know what little Cuore has told me, but since you are staying here, I felt that I should get to know you."

Kieran sighed, almost wishing they had kept the conversation shallow.

"Because, Kieran Astor, all I know is that something about you made you singlehandedly able to crush my daughter's spirit."

He winced again.

The first feeling to come to mind was guilt, followed closely by the want to justify his actions, which was pointless. After that, he was defensive, and annoyed, but at the core of it all, he just felt…contrite.

"Look, I want to sit here and make excuses and rationalize my actions and frankly, I probably could. You're not stupid; you know what Cuore is."

Kieran looked back outside, where the rain had lightened and the clouds were beginning to fade. "But, I do feel badly for treating her poorly, for taking out all my bitterness and my sorrow and my self-hate on her, because it was easier."

"Cuore knows this already. She knows because I told her, because I was finally honest with her and myself. I…couldn't deal with what had happened, and rather than admit that, I ignored it."

He frowned at the queen, "No offense, but your opinion matters very little to me. I'm not trying to prove myself to you."

Rydia grinned, "No, I guess you aren't, are you?" She sighed, "Kieran, people deal with darkness differently. The way you learn from it and move on is what matters."

He groaned, rolling his eyes, "Crystals, do all you people who went on that first trip to the moon have to sound the same? I don't really want an inspirational pep-talk."

Rydia laughed, looking at him in bewilderment, "You are…snippy, aren't you?"

He frowned, not sure if she was scolding him or not. She just shook her head, "Ah, I see why Cuore likes you…"

Kieran gave her a funny look and she set aside her teacup, "Even if you don't care what I think, I hope you understand what I was trying to convey to you."

"I didn't." he said flatly.

"That you've earned a second chance,"

"More pep-talk…"

She flashed him a smile, "My point is that, if I can forgive the men who murdered my mother and burned down my village, I think I can forgive you for making my daughter cry."

Kieran just blinked at her, unsure if she was serious or not. Even after their last conversation, he couldn't tell with her. It was unnerving.

Rydia just continued to smile.

Kieran just felt more confused.

"I did want to know your opinion on the Magicite last night at dinner," Rydia said suddenly. "I'm scheduled to go to Mysidia in two weeks to do a lecture on magic in combat, but Cuore keeps telling me not to go. She seems to think the Magicite is up to something."

"Cuore's intuition is usually right," Kieran replied.

She regarded him carefully, "True, still I'd like a second opinion."

He hesitated, unsure what to tell her.

He wasn't really at liberty to discuss the Magicite's activities in Baron, and he didn't want to get into how unhelpful Mysidia was being in the whole affair. Ever since the Magicite finally came to the forefront of a lot scandals and issues in the magical capital of the world, people had started paying attention.

There was a pattern to their moves; everything was calculated and nothing was left to chance. Everything they did or didn't do meant something, and the current pattern suggested they were up to something big.

For someone like Cuore, who was likely keeping tabs on them for more personal reasons, the pattern would be an easier to spot.

Still, even if he couldn't talk directly to Rydia, he could at least keep her from placing herself in view of the Magicite. It was probably what Cuore was trying to avoid.

Finally he settled on a wording choice and met her gaze, "I…think you should listen to daughter and stay here."

Rydia nodded slowly, as if making up her mind and then she grinned at him, "Tactical avoidance,"

"Something like that," Kieran replied, nodding.

She sobered, nodding, "I suppose it couldn't hurt to wait to take my trip. Mysidia might be annoyed, but I'm sure Edge would be fine with it. He always gives me a hard time when I leave to speak there."

She sighed, "Cuore will be happy as well. She seemed to feel very strongly about my not going."

They sat in silence for a few minutes with the only sound being the pattering of raindrops outside until even that sound lifted once the clouds had passed.

Rydia spoke up again, pouring herself a fresh cup of tea. "So, tell me what's happening in Baron. I didn't get a chance to talk much with Ceodore or Kain."

He shrugged, "The usual. I'm sure Rosa will fill you in on the gossip in her next letter,"

"I want the gossip that Rosa won't tell me," the queen countered, smirking once more.

Kieran had to grin at that and nodded, "Alright…well, some white mage exchange student got in a fight with one of our white mages. I think they were fighting over some…guy…I don't really know or care to know, honestly."

"There's a lot of that going around in that country," Rydia mused aloud, eyes to the window.

He stared at her and she laughed lightly, not bothering to look in his direction, "I created the sport that is being mean to Kain, you know."

"And here I thought Edge was the bad influence." Kieran replied.

She gave him a look, "What gave you that idea?"

"Rosa."

Rydia rolled her eyes at that. He leaned back in his chair, deciding to try his hand at making what people considered a normal conversation. He hated started those almost as much as he hated participating.

"It was nice of you to have this party here and invite us,"

She smiled, "I'm just glad the children enjoyed it. Sometimes I think they don't have enough fun."

"Fun is relative." Kieran remarked, shrugging.

"Mm, I see, _Cuore_." Rydia teased, still smiling. "Tell me, how is Ceodore? And I suppose I should ask about Kain, too. It's only fair."

"Kain is on my bad list," Kieran complained, glaring at the wall. "He lost my passport which is why I'm stranded here, and apparently my ticket was invalid, too."

She frowned, but he continued, "I'm so having words with him when I get home…"

"I'm sorry to hear about your trouble. I hope Cuore and you can resolve it with the port master. She's going with you, right?"

He nodded, "So she said,"

"She apparently knows the man. I think his son is friends with her or something." Rydia stated thoughtfully.

Kieran bit back a comment about Cuore having friends. He thought they had the same friends, but perhaps that was unfair of him.

"As for Ceodore, well, he's the same as ever. Dense, spineless, whiny…"

She blinked at him, "Why are you friends with each other?"

Kieran shrugged, "I honestly don't know. But hey, whatever works. I think Ceodore has trouble having normal, uncomplicated relationships with people. Just look at him and Ursula."

Rydia leaned forward. "So there is something going on between them? I'm so confused about it, and Cuore is as well, so I don't know. Rosa seemed to think I was seeing things but…"

Kieran rolled his eyes in an exaggerated motion, "Ugh, don't even get me started on those two! It's not just you; I think _they're_ confused about what they are to each other."

"But you think there's something going on there," she prodded.

He grinned, "Is the Tower of Babil an eyesore?"

"I see your point."

"I thought you might."

Rydia smiled and sipped at her tea, "We should have tea more often."

* * *

**Awkward family dinners are awkward.**

**I remember copying my older brother at everything. I'm drawing on that a lot of this story. Also, Edge and Izzy decided to steal the scene and be snarky jerks to each other...ah, family dinners...And Kain bashing. You just can't have a chapter without it.**

**Kieran and Cuore are in that weird...not-crushing but totally-crushing stage...it's really funny to me. And I love Leo and Seren. They are such a blast to write.**

**Meanwhile, Rydia isn't stupid or in denial. **

**I did drop a few hints as to what is coming in a few chapters, but I know it's still a slow build. However, I have so many people ask about a certain two people that I'm hoping no one minds the interlude.**

**There's a few more chapters of wondrous torture for Kieran before we move onto the other fun in this story. **


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